


Bide Your Time

by Honeyeollie



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, Friendship, Idol Byun Baekhyun, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Slow Build, Smut, Video & Computer Games, Waiter Park Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-01-01 01:49:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 72,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12146019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honeyeollie/pseuds/Honeyeollie
Summary: Chanyeol’s life has been revolved around his unhealthy obsession with a certain computer game for as long as he could remember. He didn’t realise everything would start changing because of some audacious idol who has a little too much free time on his hands.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my very first EXO fanfic!
> 
> I recently got back from Tokyo and the cafés there are unlike anything I've seen anywhere else I've been to! That's where I got the inspiration to write this fic ^^ some of it at least!
> 
> Anyway, this is Baekyeol/Chanbaek. All of the members make appearances every now and then, but I won't focus on them! (Or I'll try not to lol I love Jongdae way too much!)
> 
> Enjoy!! ♡

“Can you do me a favour and not seat anyone in these three tables surrounding mine?”

Chanyeol’s smile falls off his face, and he blinks at his customer’s face.

He knows he hasn’t worked as a waiter for long, but he has never received such a request before. He hasn’t gotten any proper training for this situation, and it leaves his mouth hanging open as he’s unable to muster a response to the customer clad in black.

“I’m kind of on the run here…” The customer says, his words slightly muffled by the mask he has on. “So can you please grant me my request~?” He asks.

_On the run…_

“I—” Chanyeol finally lets out. “Excuse me for just one moment, sir.” He says as he quickly shuffles to the counter at the front of the café, where the manager has been greeting customers all morning.

He clears his throat to announce his presence, still dumbfounded by what the customer said, and he is greeted with his manager’s straight face.

When he first started working at this café, he was surprised to know that the manager in charge of him — and the rest of the waiters, was almost the same age as him. Then he was informed by the other employees of how hardworking Do Kyungsoo was, and that there was a reason he was assigned as the manager of this branch.

Chanyeol is reminded by said reason as he faces him.

“Uh… That customer over there has asked me to keep the tables near him empty.” Chanyeol says a bit too fast, surprised that he hasn’t started stuttering yet at the look he was receiving from his manager. “He told me he was on the run, should we call the police?” 

This caused one of the manager’s brows to raise in question as he glanced in the customer’s direction. “Give me a second.” Kyungsoo says.

Kyungsoo started walking over to the customer at the back of the shop, and Chanyeol watches as he fidgets by the counter near the door. 

As soon as Kyungsoo got to the customer, he starts taking his mask off, leaving it hanging from one of his ears and Kyungsoo actually _laughs_. Then after a short exchange of words, Kyungsoo bows, turns around, and places what Chanyeol could make out as a glare on his face as he walks towards him.

_What just happened?_

Chanyeol immediately looks away from the manager’s gaze and starts to admire the decor in the ceiling in hopes of forgetting the feeling of being under the shorter’s stare. 

When Kyungsoo is by his side again, he reaches out to hit Chanyeol on the head, causing him to wince.

_Every time!!_

“Place these on the three tables around him and get back to work.” Kyungsoo says as he hands him ‘reserved’ place cards, and pushes him in the direction of the only customer in the section he was waiting on.

Chanyeol rubs the back of his head, not daring to ask his manager what that was about. He turns around and stops to look at the customer for a few seconds, who is happily kicking his feet underneath the table as he browses through the menu and takes a sip of the water Chanyeol had given him earlier.

He places the cards on each table before returning to the customer. 

“Are you ready to order, sir?” Chanyeol asks, a piece of paper resting on a small clipboard and pen in each hand.

“Yes—“ The customer says as he flips through the menu to get to the dessert section. “Which cake do you recommend the most?” He asks as he points at the cakes and looks up at Chanyeol expectantly.

Chanyeol looks at the menu instead, and points at one of the desserts. “The chestnut tart, definitely.” He says. 

“Alright then, I’ll have two chestnut tarts and one of all the other cakes you have right now.” The customer says, resting his chin on the palm of his hand and keeping his eyes on the waiter, a playful smile evident on his lips.

_Is this guy serious?_

Chanyeol widens his eyes for a brief second but composes himself as he nods and writes that down. He hears the customer snicker.

“Can I g—get you anything to drink?” Chanyeol asks, feeling slightly embarrassed at the way he reacted. He smiles sheepishly.

The customer hums playfully. “No thank you, just make sure to give me a refill in-between cakes.” He says as he lifts his glass of water to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol nods. “Should I bring all the cakes at once? Or would you like me to bring them one after the other?” He asks. 

“All at once.” The customer says as he smiles.

“Is that all I can get for you?” Chanyeol asks.

“Yes, thank you!” 

Chanyeol bows and turns around, letting out a breath he wasn’t aware he’s been holding, and feeling the tension that was built up in his shoulders loosen up completely as he walked up to the display of cakes near the entrance, where his manager was standing.

The café is always empty early in the afternoon, but it is bound to fill up soon enough after lunchtime. A part of him is glad, that if his only table stayed long enough, he wouldn’t have his hands full during rush hour. Kyungsoo is pretty strict about his employees switching tables, or waiting on each other’s tables, unless it got too busy around the shop.

Chanyeol doesn’t need to check the customer’s order as he takes out a tray and places as many plates on it as it can hold.

“Take this to the table.” He suddenly hears as he looks up to see his manager holding a small basket filled with cutlery, tissues, and wet napkins. “I’ll take care of the order.” Kyungsoo adds, motioning for Chanyeol to get going as he starts placing a different piece of cake from the display on each plate.

He takes the basket, and makes his way out of the counter with the cake display, walking straight back to his only table.

The customer is busy staring at his phone, and Chanyeol could finally get a proper look at his face. Small face, sharp jawline, and beautiful eyes. He could easily be an anime character. 

Chanyeol catches himself before he spaces out too long at the customer’s face. He quietly places the basket on the table, receiving a low ‘thank you’ from the customer as he kept his eyes fixated on his phone’s screen.

He bows slightly and walks back to where Kyungsoo is finishing up plating the first tray. 

“Take this for now.” His manager says, gesturing to the full tray. “The table will get too crowded if you serve him all of the cakes at once, so give him some time before serving him the rest.” He adds as Chanyeol nods, takes the tray, and hurries back to his table, making sure not to accidentally drop it.

Chanyeol swears he has never heard that many words from his manager since he started working here three months ago. He’s at a loss for words at the situation, but chooses to ignore it and keep working. 

He has a busy day ahead of him after his shift, so he is kind of thankful.

When he arrives at the table, he places the tray at the edge of it, and starts unloading it using his other hand. The customer finally looks up for his phone, putting it down on the table. 

“Your order is too big for the table, so I’ll bring the rest of it once you clear these out. Is that okay?” Chanyeol says as he picks up the empty tray off the table and clutches onto it with his hand by his side. 

“It’s fine, thank you!” The customer says as he picks up a fork and a spoon, pulling the plate with the chestnut tart in front of him first.

“Enjoy.” Chanyeol says, bowing before turning away and heading back to where his coworkers were. 

“Park Chanyeol.” One of his female coworkers says as she approaches him. 

Chanyeol is slightly startled at her use of his full name. “What?” He asks.

“You have to switch tables with me.” She says. 

Chanyeol frowns. “Why?” He questions.

“Oh my god, you don’t even know who that is, do you?” She asks as she rubs her temples.

“Am I supposed to?” Chanyeol says. “Anyway, you should know better than to try to switch with me while Kyungsoo is still here.” He adds as he sighs. 

His coworker groans. “You really do live under a rock…” She says. “That’s Byun Baekhyun, one of the most famous idols right now. Please switch with me! I’ll handle Kyungsoo!!” She adds as she claps her hands together and closes her eyes, practically pleading Chanyeol.

_Ah… She must be a fan._

“No.” Chanyeol hears from behind him as he jumps up and moves to stand next to his coworker. “There will be no switching of tables. It’s best that this guy handles Mr. Byun’s table.” Kyungsoo says as he points his chin in Chanyeol’s direction, all the while keeping his glare at his coworker. 

“And if you happen to tell any of your friends about Mr. Byun’s current whereabouts and news happens to get out, consider yourself fired.” Kyungsoo adds as he walks back to his usual post near the door.

_Ouch._

Chanyeol finally exhales and looks back at his coworker, who was left stunned in her position. “You heard the little man.” He says. 

She pouts and says, “Fine…” before walking back to wait on her own tables. 

Chanyeol can’t say he’s ever heard of him. He doesn’t think he lives under a rock, it’s just thathe doesn’t have time to spare on catching up with all the idols that were debuting nowadays, as his interests lay elsewhere.

He takes a look at his customer, watching as he devours one cake after the other. Such a big appetite for such a small man — he wasn’t _that_ small, but compared to Chanyeol’s figure, he kind of was. 

_Byun Baekhyun, huh?_

_——————_

Chanyeol is surprised, to say the least, to see the idol, Baekhyun, leaving after five whole hours of eating desserts and drinking coffee, and teasing Chanyeol when he had forgotten to refill his glass with water like he requested. 

And just as he was about to finish his shift, too. He thought he was going to stick around until closing time. 

_Finally…_

The idol packs his laptop and the notebook that he had taken out at one point back into his backpack, and gets off his chair, pushing it back under the table as he slings his bag over his shoulders.

He watches as Baekhyun marches up to the front of the store, where Kyungsoo was manning the register, and he takes his wallet out to pay. 

Chanyeol sighs, and walks up to the table Baekhyun’s been occupying to clear it out. Thefour plates are stacked up neatly, and his cutlery and the napkins he’s used sat on top.

When Chanyeol picks the stack up, something catches his eyes. 

Blinking, he finds a piece of folded paper tucked underneath the plates, with his name scribbled on it.

_What’s this?_

He puts the plates back down on the table and picks the paper up to unfold it, watching as something that was tucked inside fall to the ground. He ignores it for now, and allows his eyes to skim over the contents of the note.

_“Park Chanyeol,_

_Apologies for my strange request! I hope your boss didn’t hit you too hard!_

_This is for all the trouble I caused you today~_

_\- Byun B.”_

Chanyeol frowns and looks down at his feet to pick up what has fallen from the paper earlier. 

_Is this guy serious?_

The waiter’s frown only deepens, more in confusion than in anger, at the two  ₩ 50,000 notes in his hands. Is this guy really from here? Is he aware that tipping isn’t really a thing here in Seoul— no, South Korea? 

He doesn’t know whether to be offended or not. Sure, he needs the money for certain things but all he did today was wait on about four tables, including the idol’s. 

Chanyeol’s head turns to face the entrance, where he finds Baekhyun and the manager in yet another exchange of words. Should he walk over there and ask for an explanation?

Or should he just pocket the money and sell the note to some fans? If he’s as big as his coworker claims he is, then this should earn him enough money to last him a lifetime. 

“Is something wrong, Chanyeol?” He hears, and he turns his head to face his other side where his coworker, Kim Minseok stands carrying the plates he was supposed to be clearing out.

Chanyeol shoves the letter and money into his pocket, and takes half the stack off of his senior coworker. 

He sighs. “Do you know this Baekhyun guy?” He asks.

His coworker nods once. “Everybody does.” He says. “You just live under a rock.” 

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Chanyeol asks. “He left me this big tip… I don’t know what to think of that gesture.” He says. 

Minseok shrugs. “Keep it. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened at the café, you know.” He says.

“Really?” Chanyeol raises a brow. “Guess I will, then.” He says.

“Good for you! Now get back to work.” Minseok says as he does so himself.

Chanyeol stands there for a couple of seconds, turning his head back to Baekhyun, only to find that the other, as well as Kyungsoo, have been staring at him for who knows how long. 

Baekhyun doesn’t look away without smirking at him before putting his mask back on, and turning back to Kyungsoo to say something, to which the latter bowed to. 

Then he turned around to exit the shop, leaving Chanyeol yet again dumbfounded at the idol’s actions. 

——————

_“Park Chanyeol, are you really still whining about what happened today? You already used half the money to buy an expansion pack!”_

Chanyeol groans as he lowers the voice chat’s volume, his friend’s voice still ringing in his ears. 

“Kim Jongdae, speak, don’t screech!” Chanyeol yells over his headphone’s microphone. 

_“Stop complaining and focus on the gameplay!”_ Jongdae continues shouting, only now his voice is a bit drowned out by the game’s sound effects. _“Look, Yixing is running out of magic points_ and _patience with you!”_

“You’re the one who keeps taking hits and causing him trouble!” Chanyeol shouts. 

Jongdae snorts, the sound coming out a little distorted from Chanyeol’s headphones. _“That’s because you’ve been going on and on about that guy from work today!!” He shouts._

“This is only the second time I’ve brought him up!” Chanyeol shouts. 

_“English please!”_ Yixing shouts, in Korean, before switching to said language. _“Let’s focus on the raid and you can continue shouting later.”_

Chanyeol sighs and focuses on the game, allowing his mind to drift elsewhere, losing focus on Jongdae’s broken English as he tries to communicate with Yixing, poor guy.

Over ten years of friendship has taught him not to argue with Jongdae for too long, or he is bound to destroy his vocal cords. 

He and Jongdae were acquaintances throughout the majority of their childhood, but sometime when they were in middle school, they bonded over their unhealthy addiction to this video game. 

And here they are now. 

They actually haven’t seen each other physically in months. They live near one another but go to different universities, so it’s hard to meet out. Not that they _do_ go out much, anyway.

The moment Chanyeol got back from work, he slipped into something more comfortable, wrapped himself in his blanket, put his headphones on and dived right back into the virtual world of this game. And he’s — _they’ve_ been at this for the past 8 hours. 

He swears it’s going to be the death of him someday.

Jongdae, Chanyeol and Yixing are all high ranking players, characters maxed out, and co-leaders of one of the most elite guilds in the game. Although Chanyeol kind of lives on the edge in-game, playing in hardcore mode without any backup levelled up accounts.

They met Yixing online a few years back when they first started recruiting people for the guild. He’s Chinese, speaks perfect English, understands basic Korean, and is slowly speaking it with the help of Jongdae. They haven’t met him in real life yet, but have had video chats with him before, and it helped erase the images Chanyeol had of Yixing in his head, induced by Jongdae as he kept going on about how Yixing might be a creepy middle-aged man. 

Needless to say, Chanyeol was relieved. 

_“Chanyeol-ah,”_ Yixing’s voice sounds through his ears, prompting him to turn the chat’s volume back up, but moving one side of his headphones away from his ears in preparation for the inevitable yelling. _“What were you saying about that idol Byun Baekhyun earlier?”_ He asks.

Chanyeol’s ears perk at this. He was about to answer Yixing when Jongdae beats him to it, nothing out of the ordinary. 

_“Do you know him?”_ Jongdae asks.

_“Yes. I’m a fan.”_ Yixing says. 

Chanyeol raises a brow. Is Baekhyun _that_ well-known? Or is Chanyeol really that clueless and oblivious to what was going on in his own hometown? 

It’s not that he doesn’t listen to music, because he actually does. Although he isn’t sure how long it’s been since he’s downloaded any new songs, bought any new albums, or turned on the TV to see if there were any new interesting or promising artists. 

He felt like it’s time to start catching up soon. 

_“Whoa, Yixing hyung, you’re amazing! You know everything!”_ Jongdae says in Korean as he laughs. _“Seriously though, even I didn’t know about him until Chanyeol told us today.”_ He adds. _“I researched him, and apparently he’s gained a lot of popularity recently after his appearance on a popular show~”_

_“English, Jongdae-ah.”_ Yixing reminds. _“I still don’t understand what he said about Byun Baekhyun…”_

_“Chanyeol said he met him today at the café he works at, and then Baekhyun paid him generously before he left.”_ Jongdae says.

_“Chanyeol-ah, you’re so lucky!!”_ Yixing says, suddenly more enthusiastic than he’s ever sounded before. _“Baekhyun is really famous here in China. Next time you see him, call me!”_

_“Don’t know about lucky, but he feels guilty about taking the money.”_ Jongdae says _. “Even after he happily spent some of it on his way back from work!”_

“Jongdae, please give your lungs a rest… It’s 3AM, and I’m pretty sure I just heard you less through my headphones and more through my window this time.” Chanyeol mumbles as he pushes his round, — and a tad too big for his face — framed glasses up to rub his tired eyes.

_“Guys, I can smell victory!!!”_ Jongdae shouts yet again, in English this time, ignoring Chanyeol completely.

Chanyeol brings his attention back to the game to see that yes — they’re almost done with the random raid they decided to take on when the night was still young.

He’s been playing this game for as long as he can remember, to the point that sometimes he doesn’t need to put his full attention into whatever he had to do to win. Unless of course, it was one of _those_ raids, for which weeks of planning would take place beforehand. 

A rush of energy runs through his body as he switches from lying down on his stomach, to sitting up with his back straight and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

Chanyeol got tired of having to sit on his desk chair for long periods of time a while ago, and thought it would be more convenient if he moved his desk against his bed frame instead, with his keyboard and mouse placed over a bed tray in front of him. 

Of course, he would put everything back to its rightful place whenever he finished, but only because of the bruised knee he received one morning a while back, courtesy of a certain misplaced desk and a restless night. 

_Just a couple of more hits…_

If he could survive this raid, he would be able to sleep peacefully for a couple of hours until it’s time for his morning shift at work. 

_“A~nd done!”_ Jongdae announces, still full of energy for someone who has been up for over 24 hours now. _“Good job guys, I'm logging off. Gotta catch up on some beauty sleep!”_

_“Sleep well, Jongdae-ah!”_ Yixing recites the Korean phrase he’s learned from Jongdae. 

_“See ya tomorrow!”_ Jongdae says before leaving the chat.

“I’m going to sleep too, hyung. I have work in a couple of hours.” Chanyeol says as he yawns and logs off the game. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” 

_“Good night, Chanyeol-ah~ sweet dreams!”_ Yixing says cheerfully. 

“Good night, hyung!” Chanyeol says as he turns off the chat as well. 

He immediately moves to turn his computer off, pushing his desk back against the wall in front of him and placing the bed tray on the floor before turning the lights off.

Chanyeol crawls to bed, taking his glasses off and placing them on his bedside table. He then grabs his phone and earphones from there. He puts his earphones on, and unlocks his phone’s screen, squinting at the brightness. He lowers it, and opens his music app.

Thankfully, this month’s subscription is already paid for. After all, he _does_ listen to music on his way to work and class. 

He opens the search tab on the app, tapping the letters to the name he’s been curious about all day. 

_Alright, Byun Baekhyun… Let’s see what you’re all about._

——————

Chanyeol is used to having little to no sleep on a daily basis by now. If he ever did sleep anything more than 6 hours a day, he would feel weird and drowsy throughout it.  
  
Still, he finds himself stifling a yawn to smile brightly as he shows some customers to their table near the back of the shop.

_3 more hours!_

The café he works at is a pretty big Japanese style one, in which they served a larger variety of desserts and food than they did coffee and other drinks. Most people who come here are pretty chatty and loud, even at the mornings. 

He works 4 days a week, taking the morning shifts from 7AM to 1PM on the days he doesn’t have morning classes during the week, and on the weekend. And everything has gone smoothly up until now. 

On the weekends, he would usually go back home and go straight to bed to charge up for the rest of the week. Then when he woke up, his eyes would immediately get glued to his computer screen until late at night — or morning.

A voice at the _very back_ of his head — which he has recognised to be his father’s voice as it kept getting more clear throughout the years — has been constantly nagging at Chanyeol about how unhealthy his habits were, and how he should be focusing on other things at this point in his life. He never really paid much attention to it. 

He shrugged his thoughts away, and sat his customers down, handing them the menus he has carried with him, then bowing and walking away to get them the complimentary glasses of water. 

From the corner of his eyes where he stands against the counter pouring water in 2 glasses, he could see the same black-clad figure he had gotten somewhat accustomed to the day before. 

_He’s here again?_

Chanyeol stares as the one he recognised to be Byun Baekhyun speaks with Kyungsoo, who was smiling. Had Chanyeol not memorised the cups’ measurements by now and known exactly when to stop, he would have spilled the water and that smile would have turned into something else aimed directly at him. 

Kyungsoo is nice and a bit misunderstood, in Chanyeol’s opinion. But seeing him smile like that, so genuinely, is still a rare sight. At least to Chanyeol.

He looks down for a brief second at the other cup, and starts to pour water in it as well, looking back up to continue watching the two near the entrance.

And all he can see is their eyes on him as he widens his own, nearly dropping the pitcher in his hand when he flinches. 

This is the second time he’s caught them staring at him like that. 

Surprisingly enough though, Kyungsoo has a soft look in his face as he stares at him and continues speaking with Byun Baekhyun. 

Chanyeol immediately looks down and focuses on the task at hand, putting the pitcher down and picking the glasses up to take them to the customers. 

Wary of the eyes that are still on him, he clears his throat and puts the glasses down on the table. “Here you go.” He says with a smile. “Are you ready to order or do you need another minute?” He asks.

“Give us a few more minutes please.” One of the customers says.

Chanyeol nods and says, “Of course” then steps back to the counter he was standing in front of a few moments ago. 

While he was speaking with the customers, Kyungsoo had shown Byun Baekhyun to his table at the back of the shop, the section Chanyeol always worked.

Upon noticing that, Chanyeol begins to pour a glass of water for him, then takes it there along with the different menus the shop has to offer. He needs to say something about the large _tip_ Byun Baekhyun has left him the day before.

So he puts a smile on his face as he approaches the table, just as Kyungsoo was bowing slightly to the idol, indicating that he was going to walk away now. 

“Good afternoon, sir.” Chanyeol says as he puts down the cup and the menus, turning it over to the lunchtime section. He smiles as Byun Baekhyun looks up at him and thanks him. “I hope cake isn’t all you’re eating for lunch again!” He adds as he chuckles, remembering the number of plates he had to move out of the idol’s table the day before.

_What am I doing?_

He usually never jokes around with the customers like that. What if he takes offence in that or something? 

Heck, though Chanyeol is really talkative once he gets going, he doesn’t usually start speaking like that with other people until he’s gotten used to being around them. He’s shy, so it always takes him a while to warm up to others.

Chanyeol bites the inside of his cheek in anticipation to his reaction.

Baekhyun laughs as he flips through the menu and Chanyeol couldn’t be any more relieved. “Why, are you worried I’m not eating well?” He asks. 

“Can’t really tell if you are with these loose clothes.” Chanyeol says, the words just flowing out of his mouth before he could even think. “But it wouldn’t be good if you weren’t, am I right?” 

“I see you’ve done your research this time!” Baekhyun says as he takes off his mask and picks up his glass of water to take a sip. 

Chanyeol tilts his head in confusion and brings his hands to his back, interlocking them. “What do you mean?” He asks.

“I mean, you know who I am this time, right?” Baekhyun says, looking up at Chanyeol with a smirk on his face. 

“Ahhh!” Chanyeol says as he nods. “I know you’re an idol now, yes.” He says. 

“Yes, yes I am.” Baekhyun says. He looks quite amused and it made Chanyeol confused as to where to direct his own eyes, especially with Baekhyun looking at him like that. 

_This_ is how he is with people he just met. 

Baekhyun laughs, shaking his head from side to side as he looks back down at the menu. “What do you suggest I eat for lunch today, then, if not cake?” He asks. 

“Hmm… Excuse me.” Chanyeol says as he starts flipping the menu to get to the right page. “This beef rice omelette.” He says as he points at the dish. 

_“Beef,_ huh?” Baekhyun asks as he chuckles again. “Okay then, since I liked the chestnut tart you recommended yesterday, I’ll trust you with my meal again~” He says. 

Chanyeol smiles, taking out a pen and little notebook from the pocket of his apron, and starts writing his order down. “Is that all I can get for you today?” He asks.

“A chestnut tart after I’m done with the omelette would be great.” The idol says. “Save one for me, okay?” He adds, smiling to the point that Chanyeol was sure he is completely obstructing his own vision, trying to act cute, and kind of succeeding. 

The waiter can’t help but chuckle at the sight. “We do sell out fast, so would you like for me to bring you one right away?” He asks.

“That would be even better!” Baekhyun says. 

“Okay!” Chanyeol says. “Would you like anything to drink?” He asks.

“Just the water is fine, thank you~” Baekhyun says. 

Chanyeol nods and bows. “I’ll be right back with your order.” He says with a smile on his face.

He turns around and gets to work with Baekhyun’s order right away, forgetting whatever it was he wanted to say to him about yesterday. Along with the other customers in his section, who, strangely, Kyungsoo had already attended to while he was busy with the idol.

——————

Baekhyun has visited the café quite frequently in the past 2 weeks. The third time he had visited, he took the liberty of seating himself in Chanyeol’s usual section at the back of the shop. And he kept getting more daring with his words towards Chanyeol with each visit.

Chanyeol, in response, caught himself letting loose around the idol, even though he wasn’t supposed to be like that with customers. Thankfully, Kyungsoo hasn’t noticed yet — and if he has, he hasn’t _said_ anything yet, which left Chanyeol uneasy whenever he was at work the same time his manager was. 

It’s a Thursday afternoon, and the café was unusually busy. Chanyeol had to seat more customers in his section, surrounding Baekhyun.

He made sure to apologise to the idol in between serving the other tables. He suggested that Baekhyun faced the wall instead and put his black baseball cap back on, to which the idol nodded to and done — very smoothly, might Chanyeol add.

Tired as he was, Chanyeol kept a bright smile on his face as he served his customers. His shift was nearly ending, which made him gladly serve his last couple of dishes so that he could run back home already. He had a busy day ahead of him, after all.

The moment Chanyeol spots the co-worker that would be taking over his section for the next shift, his face beams even more as he dashed over to Kyungsoo near the entrance to let him know. 

What he sees isn't a peaceful manager near the entrance. 

Kyungsoo had _that_ look on his face. And he was surrounded by girls… A whole bunch of them.

_Is that…?_

They're holding cameras. 

_Oh._

How fearless must they be not to cower in fear at the look Kyungsoo has on his face as he speaks with them. Chanyeol wishes for even a fraction of their courage.

Instead of approaching Kyungsoo while he is in that state, Chanyeol opts to tracing his steps back and going to the backroom instead.

In there, he takes off his apron, and opens his locker to take out his hoodie and puts it on, grabbing his backpack and slinging it over his shoulders before closing it. 

Just as he was about to leave through the backroom’s door, his forearm is grabbed rather harshly.

Chanyeol turns around, ready to give whoever it is a piece of his mind. Unless it’s Kyungsoo, of course. 

He finds himself blinking in confusion instead. “Byun Baekhyun?” He asks.

“YOU!” The idol shouts. “Do you have a car?” He asks quickly. “Do you live nearby? Tell me!!”

“Uh… I live about a 10 minute walk from here.” Chanyeol says.

“You gotta help me!” Baekhyun says frantically. “News leaked that I was here and the café is swarmed with fans!” 

Chanyeol’s mind immediately drifts to the plans he has for today. “Can’t your manager pick you up or something? You can stay here in the backroo—“ 

“No!” Baekhyun says as he lets go of Chanyeol’s arm. “My manager won’t be able to make it in time. They’ll come back here, trust me..." 

“My co-workers would stop them from coming back here, you know.” Chanyeol says.

“Yeah, just like they stopped _me_ from coming back here just now.” Baekhyun says as he sighs.

Chanyeol thinks about it for a few seconds. 

He would just stay at his place for a while until someone comes to pick him up, right? Chanyeol could just tell him to make himself at home while he locks himself in his room to start up the game. 

He had people waiting for him, after all. 

“Alright.” Chanyeol says. 

“Alright what?” Baekhyun asks. 

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything. 

Instead, he grabs Baekhyun’s arm in the same manner the idol grabbed his a few moments ago, and starts pulling him out of the building. 

What could go wrong? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed reading! This is just an introductory chapter, but I promise every single chapter after this will be eventful ^^ also, I like keeping my chapters long (About 5k+), so... ♡
> 
> I'll be updating every Tuesday night or Wednesday! I have a good track record of weekly updates (unless I say otherwise) in a certain anime fandom under a different name, so don't worry about me disappearing and abandoning this fic! 
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for reading! (❁´◡`❁)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two!!
> 
> Enjoy (˵¯͒⌄¯͒˵) ♡

Chanyeol takes in a deep breath as he stands in front of his apartment’s door with a fidgeting idol practically glued to his back.

_Did I put everything away last night?_

He lives in the ground floor of an apartment building that could be mistaken for a house. The entrance is guarded by an electronically locked gate at the end of a somewhat long driveway, which is connected to a sidewalk.

The place itself isn’t all that bad. The neighbourhood is usually really quiet, aside from the occasional screams he heard from Jongdae’s place in the building across the driveway whenever he left his window open at night.

There are two other apartments besides his, and the occupants are strangers to him. The walls of all the apartments in the area are soundproof, so no one would be able to hear him whenever he’s shouting back at Jongdae via voice chat. Though he could still hear the shuffling of his neighbours’ footsteps whenever they came back home.

“Why are you spaced out? Open the door!” Baekhyun whispers. 

Would it be okay for Byun Baekhyun to see the state his apartment is in? It probably wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but he barely knows the guy. He isn’t sure just how comfortable he’ll be with a stranger in his apartment.

Chanyeol shrugs. He already agreed to this, so he might as well. “Alright, alright. Be quiet, you’ll disturb the neighbours!”He says.

He reaches into his backpack’s front pocket for his keys, which he could easily locate amongst the mess because of the generous amount of keychains he has attached to it. 

“What, are you worried you didn’t hide your sex toys or something?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol almost drops his keys at the idol’s audacity.

“Ah… Not exactly.” Chanyeol says as composes himself and inserts the key into the top lock, turning it and taking it out, then moving to open the top bottom one, and pushing the door open. 

He moves for Baekhyun to go in first, which he did. The idol quickly takes his shoes off, placing them neatly before stepping up into the apartment. 

Chanyeol follows, closing the door and locking it behind him. He hangs his keys into the little hook he has near the door and takes his own shoes off.

When he looks up, he sees Baekhyun awkwardly standing at the entrance, his hands gripping tightly at his backpack’s straps as he waits for him. Chanyeol laughs. 

“Make yourself at home!” He says. “This is the bathroom,” Chanyeol points at the door near the entrance before moving further inside to where the kitchen and living room were. “There’s food and drinks in the fridge, please help yourself.” 

He checks, and no — he didn’t leave any dishes unwashed in the sink. Nor did he leave any leftovers on the counter. And his place doesn’t smell bad. He’s also sure he threw away the trash last night, so what was he worried about during their walk here?

Chanyeol moves further inside to where the living room is, stopping when he faces the shelving unit and TV. He freezes in place.

_Ah._ This _is what my mind’s been warning me about…_

Baekhyun stands next to him and snickers. 

_How did I completely forget about these?_

“Is _this_ what you didn’t want me to see?” The idol asks. 

“Ah… That—” Chanyeol starts but cuts himself off. “I like collecting stuff, okay?” He says.

“I mean…” Baekhyun says. “It’s good that you have a hobby! If you consider collecting figures just that.” 

Chanyeol rubs the back of his head. He isn’t ashamed of his collection… Actually, he is embarrassed. He doesn’t even know Baekhyun well enough yet for him to know _this_ much about him. 

“You don’t look like the kinda person who would collect these kinds of things…” Baekhyun says as he moves to the shelf to pick one of the figures up.

The other immediately goes after him and takes the figure away. “No touching.” He says. “And what do you mean by that?” 

“You’re too handsome—” He begins saying, but shakes his head. Chanyeol raises his brows.

He hasn’t been complimented like that in a while. Mostly because he hasn’t really bothered with how he dressed or how he styled his recently. So to be told something like that is a bit sudden.

Baekhyun is clearly flustered by his own bluntness as he starts flailing his hands. “I mean usually, you know…” He tries to say. “People who… You know!!” 

Chanyeol bursts out in laughter. “Okay, I think I get it.” He says as he moves to his room. “Look, I’ve got things to do. You can watch TV or do whatever you want. The wifi password is at the back of the device right there,” He says, pointing at the table the wifi is placed on. “I’ll be in my room!” 

“You won’t even know I’m here!” Baekhyun says, giving him two thumbs up and winking. 

He nods and opens his door, quickly shutting it behind him and leaving Baekhyun by himself in the living room. He sighs, facing the mirror behind his door to take out his contact lenses and throw them out in the bin he has in there. 

Chanyeol then starts taking off his jeans and starts putting on the pair of black shorts he slept in last night, which he absentmindedly threw on his bed before he left for work in the morning. He also takes his hoodie and white dress shirt off, then picks the black tank top up off his bed and puts it on. He wears the hoodie again over it.

Rubbing his eyes, he makes his way to his bedside table and grabs his glasses, cleaning them up with the his sleeve before putting them on. He then moves to his desk and sits down on the chair, turning his computer on.

Today's raid is one of those in which he couldn’t afford to lay down on his bed and space out. It look his guild the entire day the night before to organise this, and it has to go according to plan no matter what. 

Byun Baekhyun being in his apartment isn’t going to distract him one bit. He couldn’t allow that. 

He could hear the TV from the living room as he waited for his computer to boot up. He feels a bit rude, leaving his guest like that, but Baekhyun kind of invited himself, didn’t he? And Chanyeol couldn’t care less about being social and making friends at the moment, as he clearly has more important things at hand.

The raid wouldn’t be starting for another four hours. They agreed on a specific time during which all 20 members were wide awake and free, but he had promised Jongdae and Yixing that he would log in right after work, as they’re both waiting for him. Last time he didn’t log in on time, Jongdae barged in his apartment using the spare keys he had given him when he moved in, and started yelling at him and questioning his _tardiness_. 

If there is one thing he regrets to this day, it’s giving Kim Jongdae free, unlimited access to his home. 

As soon as Chanyeol logs in, he receives an invitation to join the ongoing voice call between Jongdae and Yixing. He puts his headphones on and accepts, quickly moving to lower the volume as soon as the call starts.

_“CHANYEOL~!”_ Jongdae shouts. _“Are you ready for today?! Tuck your balls in place because this is the most important day of the year!”_

“Tell that to yourself, Jongdae!” Chanyeol shouts back. “You’re more likely to ruin this day for us than I am!” 

Jongdae just lets out a shriek in response, making Chanyeol pull his headphones away from his ears.

_As long as you don’t deny it this time, I guess._

_“Hi Chanyeol-ah!”_ Yixing greets cheerfully after Jongdae stops.

“Hey hyung!” Chanyeol says. “How’d you do on your test today?” He asks, switching to English so that Yixing doesn’t complain.

_“Ahh, leave it to Park Chanyeol to ask about irrelevant things.”_ Jongdae says as he groans.

_“It would’ve gone better if you two didn’t keep me up last night.”_ Yixing says. _“But it was fine~ Thanks for asking!”_ He adds. _“Jongdae-ah, why aren’t you more like Chanyeol-ah?”_

_“Because if I were, this call would be in deafening silence!”_ Jongdae says. _“If hyung so much as sniffs, Chanyeol would be so startled, his balls would jump up and never come down.”_

“Stop talking about my balls!” Chanyeol shouts. 

_“There are some words I don’t understand, so I’m not following…”_ Yixing says. 

“Hyung, you don’t need to know what he’s saying, he’s weird.” Chanyeol says.

_“Wait let me search how to say balls in English!”_ Jongdae says as he laughs. 

“Whoaa, your English is quite good!” Chanyeol hears from behind him.

“Not really—” Chanyeol says, spinning in his chair to face the idol. “What are you even doing here?!” He shouts. 

He isn’t wearing his hat, mask or loose hoodie anymore. And Chanyeol could clearly see, now that he’s clad in a fitted grey t-shirt, that whoever was in charge of his diet and training was doing a good job.

“I got bored. And you were shouting about your balls, so I felt like I needed to come in!” Baekhyun says.

_“Chanyeol, who is that?”_ Jongdae asks. _“Since when did you start having people over? AND WHY AREN’T I INVITED?”_ He shouts.

_“Chanyeol-ah, I’m proud of you!”_ Yixing says. _“I was worried Jongdae was your only friend.”_

He hears Jongdae whine before shouting, “No one!” at the two, muting his microphone and taking his headphones off. “When is your manager picking you up?” He asks Baekhyun as he rubs one of his temples.

“Ah yes, about that.” Baekhyun says. “I sent him away, told him to come later~” He adds.

“And why did you do that?” Chanyeol asks, sighing. 

“I thought we could get to know each other more!” Baekhyun says as he drops himself on Chanyeol’s bed and lies down, bringing his hands up beside his head.

“Byun Baekhyun, I kinda have something to do…” Chanyeol says. 

“How old are you?” Baekhyun asks. 

“Don’t ignore me like that!” Chanyeol says. “I’m turning 21 next month. Why are you asking?” 

“Just trying to figure out how to address you.” Baekhyun says. “We’re the same age, so you can just call me Baekhyun!” 

“That’s…” Chanyeol says as he frowns. “Yeah. Okay.” 

“Can I call you Chanyeol in exchange?” Baekhyun asks.

“You can call me whatever you want just—” Chanyeol begins to say but stops.

His eyes suddenly widen. He picks his headphones back up and un-mutes his microphone. “Jongdae?” He asks.

_“Jongdae excused himself.”_ Yixing says.

_Shit._

Chanyeol hears his door click and quickly gets up to guard his room’s door. Why didn’t this thing have a lock? 

Baekhyun sits up abruptly, his expression laced in confusion as he cocks his head to the side.

“Be quiet!” He mouths to Baekhyun, who smiles brightly and motions zipping his lips closed.

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. 

“Park Chanyeol, open this door.” Jongdae says from the other side of the door.

“I’m going to change my locks someday…” Chanyeol says. 

“WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME?” Jongdae shouts. “We don’t keep secrets from each other! We even shower together, man!”

Baekhyun bursts out in laughter, his eyes shutting closed from the intensity. His perfect white teeth all visible as his mouth hangs open and he tilts his head back, soft black locks swaying with the motion. Chanyeol finds himself smiling at the sight. 

The sound starts to get contagious, and Chanyeol can’t help but start snickering himself.

His grip on the door’s handle grows weaker, and at that moment, Jongdae shoves the door open, and Chanyeol falls back on his ass as he continues laughing uncontrollably while clapping his hands together

Jongdae doesn’t waste any second stepping in the room to kick Chanyeol’s leg.

“Why did you feel the need to hide the fact that Byun Baekhyun is in your room?” Jongdae asks as he walks to Chanyeol’s computer and pulls the headphones’ jack out. “It’s not like I’m a crazy fan like Yixing hyung.”

“Hey hyung! Video call me, okay?” Jongdae says as he starts messing with the computer. 

“Okay~” Yixing says.

“Chanyeol, get up and introduce us. Where are your manners?” Jongdae asks. 

As soon as their laughter dies down, Chanyeol stands up and helps Baekhyun off his bed. 

“Baekhyun, this is my friend Kim Jongdae.” Chanyeol says. “Jongdae, this is Byun Baekhyun.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Baekhyun says. Then he looks at Chanyeol. “What, we’re not friends?” He asks as he pouts.

“It’s nice to meet you too~!” Jongdae says. He also shoots Chanyeol a glare. “And we’re _just_ friends?” He questions. “After all these years?” 

“Why are you both attacking me?” Chanyeol shouts over his computer’s ringing. “L—look, Yixing hyung is calling!” He says as he starts walking to his computer to answer. “He’s a fan of yours, Baekhyun!"

Baekhyun hops next to Chanyeol in front of the camera, and Jongdae walks over and stands on the other side of the taller of the two.

When the call starts, they all bend down to a different degree to be within the frame. The screen takes a second to load, and then they are met with Yixing’s image. 

He smiles, the dimple on his cheek becoming more visible, and he waves.

“Hyung, you said you wanted to meet him right?” Chanyeol asks. “Baekhyun, this is our friend from China, Yixing.” 

“Hello!” Baekhyun says in English.

“What, you don’t speak Mandarin?” Jongdae asks. “I thought all idols did.” He says.

“My pronunciation isn’t that great, so I prefer not to…” Baekhyun responds. 

_“It’s nice to meet you, Baekhyun! I’m a big fan!”_ Yixing says.

“Oh, you speak Korean? You’re good!” Baekhyun says. “It’s nice to meet you too!’ 

Jongdae straightens his back up and crosses his arms. When Chanyeol looks up, he can see a smile plastered on his face.

“I taught you well, hyung.” He says.

Chanyeol shakes his head. 

_“Ah, no it’s not…”_ Yixing says. _“You sing well! I usually listen to your ballad songs when I can’t sleep at night.”_

“But I serenaded you to sleep through the phone just a couple of nights ago…” Jongdae says. “You even said I sang his own song better than him!” Jongdae shouts.

“He probably said it to shut you up.” Chanyeol mumbles.

_“I didn’t say that!”_ Yixing says. _“And Chanyeol-ah, stop trying to sabotage our friendship.”_

“Yeah, mind your own business, Chanyeol!” Jongdae shouts.

It’s one thing to hear him shout through headphones, or occasionally, the window, and it was another thing to hear him shout directly into Chanyeol’s ear. 

He winced and covered said ear. “How did this situation take such a turn so quickly?” Chanyeol asks Baekhyun.

The idol laughs as he shrugs. He looks amused as he stares back and forth, from Jongdae to Yixing on the screen. “Hey, I want in on this! Chanyeol’s face is priceless right now!” 

Chanyeol shoots Baekhyun a glare. He sighs, giving up on this conversation and moving back to sit on his bed instead.

Baekhyun and Jongdae squeeze their tiny asses in his chair and take over the video call with Yixing, talking about him like he isn’t even there.

This is the start of what could possibly be a friendship between the _worst_ combination of people Chanyeol could think of. 

——————

“You know…” Jongdae says. “It usually takes Chanyeol a whole lot more than whatever little time you two spent together to warm up to someone like this.” 

“It does not.” Chanyeol says. 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun are currently occupying the bed, facing the desk, where Jongdae is sitting on the swivel chair pushed a bit to the side so that Yixing can see everyone clearly. 

“Yes it does.” Baekhyun says. “Kyungsoo told me you still don’t get along with your coworkers very well.” 

“I do get along with them!” Chanyeol protests. “Why would he say something like that? Wait— why would he tell _you_ something like that?”

“Because we’re friends!” Baekhyun says as he grins. 

“Kyungsoo? Your creepy manager who always glares at me whenever I enter the café calling for you?” Jongdae asks. 

“He glares at you for completely valid reasons, Jongdae…” Chanyeol says. “And when did _you_ become friends with Kyungsoo?” He asks Baekhyun.

“A couple of weeks ago.” Baekhyun says. “He’s a precious fan of mine! Anyway, he says you always pass up on going out for drinks with the rest of them for some computer game.” 

“That sounds about right!” Jongdae says. “This game right here is exactly what we,” He points at Chanyeol, the screen, and himself. “Occupy ourselves with whenever we aren’t sleeping, working, or in hyung and mine’s case, studying!” 

Baekhyun nods. “I used to play this.” He says. “I got bored after my character maxed out.” 

_“You clearly didn’t know what you were doing.”_ Yixing says. 

“Yeah, you must’ve sucked, Byun Baekhyun.” Jongdae says.

Chanyeol just nods along to whatever Jongdae is saying, glad they aren’t talking about him or picking on him anymore.

“So this is what Chanyeol does in his free time.” Baekhyun says, nodding to himself. “I see…” 

“And he takes it just a bit too seriously than us, you know? This is why his apartment is a dump.” Jongdae says.

“Your place isn’t exactly clean either.” Chanyeol says. 

“Yeah, but that’s because I’m juggling work, the game _and_ university, which you seem to be missing quite a lot of recently!” Jongdae says. 

Whenever Chanyeol tried pushing the topic of the conversation away from himself, he kept getting more and more relevant thanks to Jongdae, and he would eventually become the main matter again. 

It’s been like this for about an hour, and there isn’t a single detail Jongdae has left untold.

_“Why aren’t you going to class, Chanyeol-ah?”_ Yixing asks. _“This game is addicting and all, but it isn’t going to pay the bills, or itself, later. Your degree will.”_

“Listen to my number one Chinese fan, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says. “Even _I_ manage to go to class, despite my busy schedule.” 

_“Baekhyun-ah, don’t lie. I read that you dropped out to focus on your career.”_ Yixing says. 

"Are you kidding me?” Jongdae asks Yixing. “You just weakened my argument, you stupid idol!” He says as he turns to Baekhyun.

_“Speaking of, Jongdae-ah, don’t you have to repeat the year because you didn’t pass half of your final exams?”_ Yixing asks. 

“Someone end the call.” Jongdae says. 

“No, no, let him talk!” Chanyeol says. “I may not have attended a single class in four weeks, but at least I’m passing all of them _with good grades!”_

“Fine, don’t listen to me!” Jongdae says. “I hate your kind. I go and work my ass off, and here you are, sitting on _your_ ass, barely leaving the house, barely sleeping, barely even eating anything of any benefit to your body, _and_ getting good grades.” 

“I’m surprised you’re not already dead and rotting away in here on your own…” Baekhyun says. 

“Shut up, it’s not that bad! I do eat!” Chanyeol says. “And doesn’t going out to the convenience store count as leaving the house?” 

“The convenience store is literally right outside by the sidewalk. It doesn’t even take a minute to walk there, oh my God.” Jongdae says. 

“Please Jongdae, like you’re one to talk!” Chanyeol says. “You rarely go out yourself!” 

“At least I take care of my health!” Jongdae shouts. “You get sick so easily and you’re prone to all kinds of disasters!” 

Chanyeol covers his ears. “This is exactly why I don’t like to hang out with you _physically!”_ He shouts back. 

“Same here!” Jongdae says, standing up. “I like you better when I can’t see your stupid face!” He says as he walks to the room’s door. 

_“I’m done.”_ Yixing says as he shakes his head.

“Oh, Baekhyun, it was nice meeting you!” Jongdae says casually before he disappears into the living room. “I’ll talk to you later!”

“Okay~! Bye-bye, Jongdae!” Baekhyun shouts. “I like him. He’s a pretty decent guy…” He says.

“You won’t like him so much when his voice is echoing in your _bones_ early in the morning.” Chanyeol says.

Yixing laughs. _“Chanyeol-ah doesn’t mean that. He loves his personal alarm clock.”_ He says.

“I can feel his love, alright.” Baekhyun says as he chuckles. 

The idol’s phone starts ringing and he excuses himself as he moves to the living room, closing the bedroom door behind him. 

_“He’s nicer than I expected him to be.”_ Yixing says. _“And you seem comfortable enough with him to keep up a decent conversation!”_

“Is this really your idea of a _decent conversation,_ hyung?” Chanyeol asks. “I’ve just received verbal abuse from you, my favourite hyung, from my so-called best friend, and from a famous idol, whom I barely know. How was this, by any means, a decent conversation?”

Yixing laughs. _"Who needs TV when I have you?”_

“I knew you were enjoying this!!” Chanyeol yells. “You kept pretending you were lost but in reality, you were happy, weren't you?!” He asks. 

Chanyeol buries his head in his sheets, feeling a bit betrayed by Yixing. He usually jumps right in to defend him whenever he was being teased by Jongdae… 

“Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun says as he walks back into the room, wearing his hoodie and cap. “I have to go now.” He says.

Then he runs to the computer screen, practically shoving his nose into the camera. “It was nice meeting you, hyung!” He says as he waves his hand frantically. 

“It was nice meeting you too!” Yixing says as he waves back.

Baekhyun then turns to Chanyeol, who is still sitting on his bed. “Chanyeol-ah, eat well, and don’t stay up too long, do you understand?” He says affectionally as he ruffles Chanyeol’s curly hair. 

“Okay, mother.” Chanyeol says, making Baekhyun chuckle.

“So soft~” The idol mutters.

“Like you imagined it’d be?” Chanyeol asks.

“Not really.” Baekhyun says as he switches to pulling at the tips of Chanyeol’s ears. “I thought it would smell disgusting but it’s good to know you actually shower!” 

“Funny.” Chanyeol says. 

“This is so addicting.” Baekhyun says, still playing with Chanyeol’s ears. “You know what the first thing that popped into my mind was when I first saw you?” Baekhyun asks.

“What?” Chanyeol asks.

Baekhyun bends down close enough for his breath to be hot against Chanyeol’s left ear. “Ears.” He whispers.

Chanyeol smacks his hands away, almost slapping Baekhyun’s cheek in the process, had the idol not moved away so swiftly. Baekhyun laughs.

“HYUNG, DID YOU SEE THAT?” Chanyeol shouts. “This is abuse! I’m being abused by some guy I don’t even know all that well in my own house!!” He says, pointing at the idol.

_“You can easily read all the articles on him online! It’ll save Baekhyun’s precious time, too.”_ Yixing says as he chuckles. _“Get to know your abuser a little more!”_

Baekhyun hums. “He’s right, you know~” He says. “Anyway, I really gotta go. Manager hyung is gonna to get all pissy if I make him wait any longer!” He pulls out his mask from his pocket and puts it on. 

“Bye bye, hyung, Chanyeol~!” He says as he runs to the door. 

Chanyeol waited until he heard the door open and shut, before getting up to lock it. 

When he gets back in the room, Yixing is intently staring at the screen, as if anticipating something.

_“Was I imagining things, or is there something going on between you two?”_ He asks.

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asks as he tilts his head to the side.

_“Nothing!”_ Yixing chuckles. _“I’m adding Jongdae to the call, he won’t stop messaging me.”_

_What was that all about?_

_——————_

“Chanyeolie~!” 

The moment he got back from work, Chanyeol changed and threw his body on the couch he had in the living room. He was _tired_. 

His phone died on his way home, so he doesn’t quite know how long it’s been since he got back. He does, however, know that he didn’t set an alarm to go off and wake him up from his slumber.

It’s a Sunday night and since he has morning classes the next day, it’s time for him to refuel for the week ahead.

Sunday night is Chanyeol’s ‘alone time’ night.

Jongdae knows that by heart. And yet, here he is. 

Turning on his living room’s lights, shuffling around in the kitchen doing who knows what. 

“YEOLIE~!” Jongdae shouts again. 

Chanyeol groans and flips his body to face the back of the couch, shielding himself from the lights. “I thought you’ve had enough of seeing my face for the month.” He mumbles.

“But I’m craving your sausages!” Jongdae says. “And I mean that in the least sexual way possible!” 

“Leave, Kim Jongdae!” He shouts, though his voice is muffled as his face is buried between the couch’s pillows. 

“I’m already washing the rice, it’s too late!” Jongdae says. 

And indeed he was. The sound of the water running from the kitchen sink is just drowned out by his shouting. 

“I don’t have sausages!” Chanyeol shouts, sighing into the pillow. 

“I bought enough for the both of us out of consideration!” Jongdae says, shutting the water. “Come on, get up!!”

Chanyeol sighs. He’ll never get him to leave, so his best choice is to just give up. 

And he does just that. He sits up on the couch and squints his eyes, trying to make out Jongdae’s figure from the kitchen. 

“Remind me again of the benefits of having you as a friend…” Chanyeol says as he rubs one of his eyes. “What time is it?” He asks.

“Late night meals is one! And It’s 12.” Jongdae says. “I’m gonna start boiling the sausages~” 

Realising that he actually had more than enough sleep, he decides to get up for now to entertain Jongdae for a while. He was pretty hungry anyway, so he might as well.

There’ll be plenty of time to drive his friend out of his apartment after he eats.

“Why are you like this?” Chanyeol asks as he moves to the kitchen and pushes Jongdae away from the electric stove with his hip. “Go sit down before you burn something.” 

Jongdae chuckles. “You’ve been knocked out for quite a while there.” He says. “I was gonna wake you up like 6 hours ago, but I felt bad seeing you like that on the couch… You should be thankful, you know.” 

Chanyeol checks to see that Jongdae has already placed the rice in the cooker and turned it on, so all he had to do now is focus on the sausages, which isn’t all that hard.

“Just because you wanted to eat?” Chanyeol asks as he checks to see whether the water Jongdae had poured into the sauce pan started boiling or not. 

“Nope, Baekhyun was here and he wanted to see you before he left.” Jongdae says.

“Are you serious?” Chanyeol asks. “Isn’t he a famous idol? Doesn’t he have, like… Idol things to do? Wait— when did you two even start hanging out? You only met him last week.” 

“Did you not watch the show I told you about?” Is all Jongdae says in response.

Chanyeol shakes his head. “I didn’t really have time. Don’t try to dodge my question, Kim Jongdae.” He says.

“We exchanged numbers when we met!” Jongdae says. “He’s really friendly, have you noticed? He’s even got _you_ out of your comfort zone~” 

“A bit too friendly if you ask me.” Chanyeol says, shivering at all the physical contact he’s had with the idol since he’s met him. From the harassment in the café, to whatever it was that happened in his room before he left.

He hasn’t seen or heard from him since. He has, however, been listening to his music whenever he had the chance. Everything he’s heard so far has suited his tastes, which was surprising. 

Jongdae starts laughing. “Come on, he’s nice! He said he couldn’t come to the café anymore, and gave me a heads up that we’d be seeing him around here more often.” He says. “Said that’s the only way he’ll get to see us! Mostly you, of course, but I’m not complaining.” 

Chanyeol raises a brow at this. “Why me?” He asks.

“He said something about nuts…” Jongdae says. Then he lets out a hum. “I don’t know, we were gaming and I spaced out when he started talking about your various encounters at the café.”

“You played without me?” Chanyeol asks. 

He checks the water again to see that it was boiling, and he added half the enormous bag of mini sausages Jongdae brought with him into the sauce pan. He put the lid on top and turned around, leaning on the counter with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Is that really the only thing that’s caught your attention?” Jongdae asks. “Anyway, you should really watch his appearance on that show. I’m sure it’ll answer all of your questions!” He says.

“If you say so…” Chanyeol says as he turns back around to pay attention to the food.

Jongdae takes the liberty to connect Chanyeol’s laptop to the TV, and searches for the show while Chanyeol continues to cook.

It doesn’t take long for him to finish, and Jongdae helps him bring everything to the coffee table in the living room, where they both sit on the floor. 

“Isn’t it nice to have a good meal together every once in a while?” Jongdae asks as he picks up his chopsticks and starts eating right away. 

“Nope!” Chanyeol says, picking up his chopsticks as well. “This was all a selfish act of yours, after all.” 

Jongdae shrugs. “And yet, you’re being fed as well.” He says with his mouth full. “I’m starting the episode!”  
  
Chanyeol shakes his head and pays attention to the TV while he eats.

Everything was fine in the first half of the episode. They showed plenty of cuts in which Baekhyun is either laughing in the background, nodding along with the conversation, or is just clearly lost.

And even with all that makeup on his face in the show, he looked exactly the same as he did in real life. Apart from that intense eyeliner game he’s got going on, of course.

Baekhyun doesn’t become the focus or target for the hosts’ attacks until halfway through the episode, and that’s when Chanyeol started paying attention to what’s being said on TV. 

_“So we’ve heard that there’s a lot of buzz going on about your dance team…”_ One of the hosts says.

And then a picture of said dancers walking behind Baekhyun leaving one of those music programs is shown on the screen. They look more like a three-member group then a singer with his backup dancers. 

_“They’re both so handsome!”_ Another host says. _“Why aren’t they idols?”_

_“Right? I have to actually tell the stylists not to make them stand out more than I do, because they’re too handsome!”_ Baekhyun says as everyone else laughs.

_“But really, they should consider becoming idols!”_ A host says. 

_“They’re not interested in singing.”_ Baekhyun says. _“Actually, they kind of are already like idols, some of my fans have even started fan-sites dedicated to them!”_ He says.

_“That’s really impressive!”_

_“Are you close with them?”_ He is asked.

_“Of course! We spend a lot of time in the practice room together, we eat together sometimes, and we even shower together.”_ Baekhyun says.

The hosts lose it at this, and they all start laughing again.

When they’ve stopped laughing, they spoke up again.

_“So you’ve seen their bodies?”_ A host asks.

_“Of course!”_ Baekhyun says. _“You won’t believe the number of times I thought I was going crazy whenever they take their clothes off in front of me.”_

_“Because you were envious of their bodies?”_

_“You can say that!”_ Baekhyun says as he laughs. _“It’s not only the fans who can’t resist them!!”_ He adds, giving the hosts a laughing fit again.

Chanyeol spits out his rice and coughs, laughing as well, making Jongdae start slapping his back in an attempt to help him regain his composure. 

The conversation goes on, and Chanyeol focuses once again. He wishes he hadn’t, though. Because all that detailed information Baekhyun gave about his little adventures with his dancers made him cringe as Jongdae laughed hysterically despite having already watched this before.

“Wow.” Chanyeol finds himself saying once the episode was over.

His friend laughs. “Well, at least his official fan club tripled in size since then, so he isn’t as ashamed of how it went as his company and manager are!” 

“And are his dancers okay with him saying these things?” Chanyeol asks. 

“He said they’re the ones who suggested these specific tales for him to tell.” Jongdae snickers. 

“Byun Baekhyun has no filter… Chanyeol says. “He’s a good guest though, he made the MCs and everyone else laugh, and he wasn’t hurting anyone other than himself. So I don’t see why this was a problem for his company?” 

“You said it yourself, Chanyeolie, it’s because he has no filter.” Jongdae says. “His company’s not angry at him, they’re just afraid he’d reveal stuff he shouldn’t, and his manager’s most likely getting reprimanded because of it. So they kinda cleared out his schedule for the month!” 

“That explains why he has nothing to do all the time.” Chanyeol says as he nods to himself. “And people liked his sincerity, so that’s how he’s gaining fans, right?”

“You catch on pretty quickly!” Jongdae says. “At least now he’s guaranteed a solid fanbase. And you’ve heard him sing, did you know he writes his own songs?” 

“He does?” Chanyeol asks.

Jongdae nods. “Yeah, I sang one last time we showered together and you said you liked it!” 

Chanyeol shakes his head. _“You know,_ if you had gone to your final audition for that big company instead of fracturing your arm falling out of bed that morning, I wouldn’t be dealing with you right now.” 

“You’re six years too late, my friend! That ship has already sailed! It was a sign from the Gods that singing wasn’t for me~” Jongdae says. 

“I’ve never asked you because I thought you’d get all sensitive about it but… Do you regret it?” Chanyeol asks. 

Jongdae goes quiet for a few seconds. Chanyeol looks to his side to see his friend in what he can only describe as deep thought. Though it didn’t take him long to come to terms with his answer.

“No.” Jongdae says, smiling softly. “I would’ve missed out on many things if I was training all the time. I don’t mean to sound sappy but we wouldn’t have become as close as we are now!” 

When Jongdae grins after saying that, Chanyeol looks away and starts shifting in his position.

“Wanna shower together?” Jongdae says to break the silence.

“No.” Chanyeol says.

——————

Chanyeol can’t believe his eyes.

After waiting on strangers all morning long, he is surprised to see a familiar face walk through the doors. A face that made Do Kyungsoo frown. 

“Chanyeol!” 

It’s Jongdae, arm in arm with a _girl._

In just the past week, he’s seen him more than he had last month. A bit more than necessary, too. 

The Jongdae he knows and has grown up with isn’t the type to go out at all, let alone take a girl out. And that enough makes Chanyeol approach him very carefully, especially since he’s under Kyungsoo’s gaze at the moment.

“Jongdae…” Chanyeol says. “A—are you on _a date?”_ He asks.

The girl lets out a soft snicker, although it didn’t sound as soft as it should have…

She’s wearing a baseball cap and a mask, so Chanyeol can’t really see how she looks like.

“Yeah! This is—” He begins to say but is elbowed on the arm. 

The girl brings her lips near Jongdae’s ear — she’s the same height as Jongdae — and whispers something. 

Jongdae clears his throat. “I’m sorry, Chanyeol.” He says, clearly suppressing his laughter. “She doesn’t want to meet you right now because she has no makeup on.”

“Okay…?” Chanyeol says.

“If you could show us to our table and let us be, then you won’t even know we’re here.” Jongdae says.

Chanyeol takes them to their table in his section, and he gives them two menus. 

When he turns around to give them some time, Kyungsoo motions for him to go over. 

“I’ve already made myself clear last time, but I don’t want any casual conversations between you two while you’re working.” Kyungsoo says.

“But…” Chanyeol says. “He brought a _girl.”_

Kyungsoo snickers. “That’s not a girl.” He says.

“What?” Chanyeol asks, frowning, although he wasn’t clear whether it was because of what Kyungsoo said, or the fact that he snickered.

And all he receives is a smirk from Kyungsoo, which sends shivers down his spine.

If she’s not a girl, then…

_Oh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos and comments on the first chapter!! 
> 
> I really hope you liked this one ^^ please let me know what you thought of it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I give to you... Chapter threeeee! Earlier this week just because (❛ᴗ❛)
> 
> Have some fluff ♡

Baekhyun has no idea how it’s come to this. 

One moment he was minding his own business at home, and the next Jongdae’s convincing him to crossdress so that they can go out together without being recognised in public.

He didn’t need a lot of convincing, gladly slipping into the dress Jongdae brought with him and putting on the wig, — why Jongdae even had those was beyond him — when he told him they were going to visit Chanyeol at work. He really craved one of those chestnut tarts, so he didn’t see why not. 

It’s only been a little over two week since he met Jongdae, but they get along pretty well. They have the same sense of humour, and both love to tease Chanyeol just for the sake of those reactions of his. 

Which is why they’re sitting at this table, waiting to be served by Chanyeol, who still doesn’t seem to have any idea that Jongdae’s _date_ is in fact none other than Byun Baekhyun himself. 

“I already know what I’m going to order!” Baekhyun says. “Your treat, right?” He asks.

“Fuck no. I’m just a poor college student!” Jongdae says. 

Baekhyun pouts, which goes unnoticed by Jongdae as his mask is still covering his mouth and nose. “And I’m just an underpaid idol!” He says. “Besides, don’t you think you’ll look bad if your girlfriend paid for your meal, hmm~?”

Jongdae rolls his eyes. “Fine…” He says. “If I don’t get rewarded with something like beef, this friendship is over.” 

“Okay~!” Baekhyun says. “But after my trip to China. Deal?” 

“Deal!” Jongdae says. “I swear if you back out last minute, I will—”

“Are you ready to order?” Chanyeol asks as he puts down two glasses of water. “Or would you like to tell me why you’re dressed like this first?” 

Baekhyun looks up to see Chanyeol staring down at him. He smiles, making sure it reaches his eyes, and gives the waiter a small wave of his hand.

_That was faster than I expected…_

Before arriving here, Jongdae and himself were betting on how long it would take for Chanyeol to realise who it actually is underneath the dress and the wig. It’s safe to say they both lost. 

“Kyungsoo noticed and told you, didn’t he?” Baekhyun asks.

If Chanyeol didn’t realise when he was inches away from him, there’s no way he would have noticed from where he was standing next to Kyungsoo at the entrance of the café. Baekhyun saw them talking after Chanyeol sat them down at their table, so he suspected that it was the manager who had pointed it out to the tall, clumsy waiter.

“Of course!” Chanyeol says, pointing his pen at Baekhyun. “I really didn’t recognise you! And you,” Chanyeol turns to Jongdae, who was cackling at the former’s reaction. “Why on earth did you convince him to put _that_ on?” 

“It was the only way I could think of to get him out of the house!” Jongdae says. “And this guy was really craving your nut— I mean, the chestnut tart!” 

Baekhyun raises a brow. 

When Jongdae had come to pick him up earlier, he initially refused to put the dress on. Although he immediately changed his mind when Chanyeol was mentioned. And then, Jongdae kept on saying Chanyeol’s name to convince him to do more — which worked because he’s already here, and crossdressed. 

He knew he isn’t being particularly discreet. Coming to this café every other day for two weeks straight, befriending the manager, and ordering the dessert Chanyeol had recommended him _each time_ even though it isn’t his favourite out of all the ones he sampled the first time he came here. He got more daring the more he saw Chanyeol; from playfully teasing him to even going as far as patting his bony hips.

The idol also practically invited himself to Chanyeol’s house, despite being aware he wasn’t in as big of a pinch as he thought he was. His manager — Junmyeon, was nearby just in case something like what happened that day were to happen. 

Baekhyun still couldn’t help himself. 

And he knew that Chanyeol would just brush it off as him being overly friendly, which he kind of is but only to _some_ extent. He didn’t count on Jongdae for being as naive as Chanyeol, but he was hoping he wouldn’t realise what Baekhyun already had the second time he saw Chanyeol at the café.

After all, he was as friendly to Jongdae as he was with Chanyeol, although a little less skin ship is involved between them. So it shouldn’t have been so obvious. 

Baekhyun looks at Jongdae seated across from him, amused as he looks up at Chanyeol.

_How did you notice so soon?_

“Right…” Chanyeol says, lifting Baekhyun’s hat a little before looking at him to see what he had to say. “And you just blindly agreed to this?” 

“I… really wanted to eat the tart?” Baekhyun says, giving Chanyeol a sheepish smile from underneath his mask. 

He feels his heart start racing as he swallows back a lump building in his throat.

Chanyeol snickers. “You look ridiculous, you know that?” He says. 

_God, I’m glad I’m wearing this mask._

Baekhyun made sure to tuck his hair out from behind his right ear, to cover it in case they started flushing the way Chanyeol’s did whenever _he_ was flustered. 

“He does, doesn’t he?” Jongdae says, covering his mouth to hide his grin as he looks at Baekhyun.

The idol takes in a breath to compose himself, reminding himself why he’s here. 

“I thought we were here to pick on Chanyeol, why are you both turning against me?!” Baekhyun asks.

“You’re the one in a yellow summer dress and a hoodie in the middle of October!” Chanyeol says. 

Jongdae lets out a laugh. “I gotta stick with Chanyeol on this one, man, why _did_ you agree to wear this?” 

“This is hardly fair!” Baekhyun says. “You told me it was the only way I can come here without being chased away by fans!!” 

“Keep your voice down!!” Jongdae says. “I swear I can feel Chanyeol’s manager’s eyes on us…” 

Chanyeol clears his throat. “Ah — yes, so are you ready to order?” He asks. 

“Yes, Yeolie!” Jongdae says. “Since _I’m_ paying, I’ll just have coffee.”

“And I’ll have the chestnut tart.” Baekhyun says, shooting Jongdae a glare. “You know what? Make it two!” 

Chanyeol smiles as he writes that down. “Can I get you anything else?” He asks. 

_If this big idiot smiles one more time, I swear I’ll lose it. What’s wrong with me?_

Baekhyun shakes his thoughts away and tries to focus on what Jongdae’s saying. 

“A friend and family discount, maybe?” Jongdae asks. “This idol’s going to drain my bank account because he couldn’t get _one_ of the things he came for…” 

_Might as well…_

“Speaking of which, I’m also here for your phone number, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says. “I’m leaving for China in a couple of days and I don’t want you to miss me too much while I’m gone, you know?” 

“Just take it from Jongdae.” Chanyeol says as he sighs. “Kyungsoo’s already gonna give me shit for standing here for too long. So do you want any drinks with your nut tarts or not?” He asks.

“You’re being rude to my date, Park Chanyeol!” Jongdae says. 

“Your _date_ is the one trying to run off with another guy!”Chanyeol says. 

“Of course I’d try to!” Baekhyun says. “Just moments before you got here, my _date_ wasn’t even willing to pay for my cake! And no, Chanyeol, for the millionth time, water is fine!” 

Jongdae snorts, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Be thankful I even took you out, okay? And stop being mean to my Channie just because he outsmarted you today!” 

Chanyeol shakes his head. “What kind of date is this?” He asks. “You two are— you know what? I gotta get back to work.” He says as he takes the menus and leaves the table.

“I hope you brought your wallet, because I’m not paying for two tarts.” Jongdae says. “You ruined everything I had planned the moment you opened your mouth!” 

“How did _I_ ruin everything?!” Baekhyun asks. “You’re the one who took his side!!” 

Jongdae sighs. “You’re still new to this field… But I can assure you that the more you get to know Chanyeol, the more you’ll learn.”

Baekhyun furrows his brows. “What the hell are you going on about? What field?” He asks.

“The field of getting under Park Chanyeol’s skin, of course.” Jongdae says.

“Okay…” Baekhyun says, nodding once. “Whatever you say.” 

“Do you want my help or not?” Jongdae asks, leaning forward on the table. “Because Chanyeol is really hard to crack. He’s so lost in his own world, that he never notices what goes on around him unless it has something to do with that game.” 

“I can clearly see that.” Baekhyun says. “But what are you going to help _me_ with?” 

“First of all, I’m doing this for _Chanyeol,_ not for you.” Jongdae says as he turns his head to the side. 

Baekhyun follows his date’s eyes to see Chanyeol fumbling about with a water pitcher, nearly dropping it when one of his coworkers sneaks up from behind him. 

“I’m going to help him notice _you.”_ Jongdae finishes. 

The idol’s head turns back so fast, his vision goes blurry for a second. He blinks to focus on the side of Jongdae’s face.

“So you _do_ know~” Baekhyun says. 

Jongdae nods. “Please, I had my suspicions when Chanyeol told me about that time you held his hand and played with his fingers while he was serving you your stupid tart. That’s sexual harassment, you know!” He says. 

“You gave yourself away today when I told you to put on this dress. You said you would never put it on but had no problem snatching it away from me the moment I mentioned Chanyeol’s name.” Says Jongdae.

“I— I get it.” Baekhyun says, letting out a sigh. “Look, don’t tell him, okay?” He adds. “This can’t happen. _Nothing_ can happen. I’m an idol, after all, and I’m not allowed to be in a relationship at all, let alone one with a guy.”

“I’ll help you _and_ Chanyeol get all the help you need for a proper life outside of your computers, but _please_ don’t bring him into this.” 

“What the hell, I _have_ a life!!” Jongdae says. 

“You keep telling yourself that. I’ve seen how Chanyeol looked at you when we walked in here together earlier.” Baekhyun says.

Jongdae seems reluctant as he ponders Baekhyun’s words quietly. 

He doesn’t speak up again as he watches Chanyeol bring their order over, and head back to serving his other customers. 

Chanyeol doesn’t seem to take note of the air around their table. Which really just shows how oblivious he is as to what’s going on around him.

Baekhyun takes his mask off and picks up one of the forks from the basket on their table. He rolls his eyes before speaking up to break the silence. “I mean, I can hook you up with my—”

“Okay.” Jongdae says, cutting him off. “Before you get any ideas, not the hookup, but about Chanyeol.”

Nodding, Baekhyun sends him a smile. “Sure thing!” He says.

Just as he’s about to cut into his tart, he pauses at Jongdae’s voice again.

“But will _you_ be okay?” He asks.

For him to put Baekhyun’s feelings into consideration while he’s trying to help his childhood friend when he’s only known him for almost three weeks, made Baekhyun’s eyes widen.

Then he smiles. “Why are you even concerned? This is nothing~!”

_It’s just a crush, after all._

——————

“Hyung, Sehun and I are done. You can use the bathroom now.” Jongin says.

“Do I _want_ to use the bathroom, or should I just go to Junmyeon hyung’s room and use his?” Baekhyun asks.

Sehun and Jongin snicker. They don’t answer his question, but that much should make it clear for the idol.

Baekhyun groans. He knew he shouldn’t have slept as soon as they got to their hotel room. He’s learned the hard way, from various trips with the two, to never use the bathroom after his dance team, because God only knows what those two do in there when they claim to be taking a bath together. And he probably had to cover his eyes. 

He couldn’t stop his body from throwing itself onto the bed. He didn’t even bother kicking his shoes off, or taking his jacket off. His eyes immediately shut closed and he fell into a deep sleep.

The flight to Beijing was only two hours — and he’s had plenty of sleep the night before. So why was he so tired? 

It’s only three in the afternoon, too. And he has a fan signing event in a few of hours, so he needs to get ready now. 

The two burst out in laughter as Baekhyun gets off the bed and starts gathering his things.

Why he has to share a room with not only one, but _both_ of them, is beyond him. It usually depends on the duration of the trip. Since this is a two-week long promotional trip, of course his company would crowd them all up in the same room. 

Not Junmyeon, though. He refuses to share with any of them after that one time in Busan last year. Baekhyun would rather _not_ think about that night. 

Once he has his clothes and toiletries ready, he leaves his hotel room and knocks on the door to his manager’s room. 

Junmyeon opens the door with a small smile on his face, but frowns once he sees Baekhyun. 

“Why aren’t you ready?” He questions as he moves to the side to let the idol in.

“I fell asleep.” Baekhyun says as he walks in, scratching the back of his head. “I’m using your bathroom!” He adds.

“Those two didn’t wake you up?” Junmyeon asks as he closes the door and trails after him.

“Nope.” Baekhyun says as he opens the glass door separating the room from the bathroom. “Oh, please call reception and let them know that our bathroom needs _sterilising_.” He says, poking his head out from behind the door. “Better yet, tell them to just burn it.” He adds before closing the door shut.

“What did they do _this_ time?” Junmyeon asks, his body leaning against the bathroom’s glass door.

“I don’t know.” Baekhyun answers, sighing, and taking his phone out of his pocket. “And I don’t want to know.” He mutters as he unlocks his screen.

He’s gotten Chanyeol’s number from Jongdae a while ago, and he’s added him on Kakaotalk but he hasn’t managed to send him a message yet. He’s been hesitating, mostly because he doesn’t know what to say. 

“Don’t worry, Baekhyun, I’ll go scold them right now.” Junmyeon says.

At the moment, he just wants to talk to Chanyeol. What about doesn’t really matter to him, but he has to initiate the conversation because Chanyeol sure as hell won’t be doing something like that.

“Huh? Hyung, no!” Baekhyun says, looking up from his phone to see Junmyeon was no longer glued to the bathroom door. “They’ll just laugh at you again—” 

He hears the door to the hotel room close and he sighs.

_Well, I tried._

Shrugging, Baekhyun opens up the app and starts a conversation with Chanyeol.

He stares at the empty chat, keeping his fingers hovered over the keyboard. There’s literally nothing for him to say. 

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_My plane arrived safely in case you were worried_ ♡

Satisfied with himself, he smiles as he locks his phone. Just as he is about to lay it on the sink countertop, it vibrates in his hand and he immediately opens it up to check his notifications.

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_ok_

Baekhyun finds himself smiling as he reads the short reply. He wasn’t expecting one for another hour or so, seeing as he’s never seen Chanyeol even hold his phone whenever they were together. 

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Okay!_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Don’t miss me too much while I’m away~_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_why would i_

The idol snorts. Why is Chanyeol making it so hard to keep this conversation going? He pouts as he types out his reply.

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_What the hell Chanyeol your replies make me want to block you_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_go ahead_

_Is this guy serious?_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_But I’d be lonely without you (´°ω°`)_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_dont u have other friends to bother_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_I do but they’re not fun!_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_and i am?_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Of course your reactions are the best!_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_thanks i guess_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_u have a meeting with ur chinese fans today right_

Baekhyun lifts his head up and looks around the bathroom. Right. He has to shower and get ready for that soon.

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_It’s a fan signing event, but yeah_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Awwh look at you! You know my schedule!_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_only cause yixing hyung abandoned us to attend_

_Should’ve known._

He sighs. Well, at least he gets to meet Yixing today! 

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_You’re mean in text (;_ ﹏ _;)_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_dont be dramatic_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_jongdae says to tell u to be thankful im even replying u_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_You wouldn’t ignore me! I’m a delight~_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_sure_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Ahh I have to get ready! I’ll call you tonight_ ♡

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_dont_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Wait for me! Bye!_

Baekhyun closes the app and locks his phone, placing it on the sink countertop. He begins to undress to take his much needed shower.

And he can’t seem to wipe this bright smile off his face through it.

——————

The fan signing event had gone smoothly. 

Although Yixing kind of stood out, being the only man in the room besides Baekhyun himself and the staff members. 

He was much more handsome in real life, Baekhyun thought when he first laid eyes on him and waved at him in the crowd. It made the rest of his fans scream in a not so civilised manner while Yixing just nodded at him. 

Baekhyun whined when Yixing sat in front of him with his album, because had he known that Yixing wanted to meet up, he wouldn’t have let him buy all those albums to enter the fan signing. So he told him to take his number from the other two so that they can have drinks or something whenever he was free before he left.

Their conversation was a tad too long, — Baekhyun did most of the talking — that the staff behind him had to interrupt him and tell him to get the line moving. Baekhyun just pouted and told Yixing that they’d catch up later.

Other than that, the rest of it was uneventful. 

_Ah!! I forgot to poke his dimple!_

Baekhyun sighs as he fastens his seatbelt. It wouldn’t have been appropriate to do that in front of his other fans, anyway. He honestly doesn’t know what kind of reaction they would have had to that. And he sure as hell isn’t going to find out.

In the van, Junmyeon took the passenger seat, while Baekhyun sat alone at the back.

“We’re picking Sehun and Jongin up before heading back to the hotel, okay?” Junmyeon says. 

The idol whines. “Can’t they just take a taxi? I’m tired…” He asks as he takes his phone out of his pocket.

“It’s easier this way.” Junmyeon says, buckling his seatbelt before turning his head to the back and looking at the idol. “Seatbelt?” He asks.

“It’s fastened!” Baekhyun says, waving his phone up. “Switch seats with me, hyung…” 

Junmyeon lets out a laugh. “No way!” He says. 

“Then at least let me sleep in your room tonight!” Baekhyun says.

Baekhyun swears he doesn’t hate them. He loves them both like they’re his own brothers, but sometimes they forget about their surroundings and get a little… Playful. 

He doesn’t mind it. They can do whatever they want, just not in the car… Or the hotel room they _share_ with him.

_They have no shame…_

“… Fine.” Junmyeon gives in. “But if you start moaning in your sleep again, you won’t be waking up in my room.” He says, chuckling.

“Hey, that only happens when I’m tired… I think.” Baekhyun says, frowning.

Junmyeon only continues chuckling in response as the car pulls out of the parking lot.

Baekhyun unlocks his phone to check his notifications. There are a lot, but only one catches his eyes as he cracks a smile at the name on his screen.

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_dont call_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_were gonna start playing again when yixing hyung comes back_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_ill cut u out entirely if you interrupt_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_im serious_

_He wouldn’t…_

Before Baekhyun even allowed himself to think about this more, he shrugged. 

_Yeah, he would, actually._

That guy is so caught up in his own world, it’s insane. 

Baekhyun starts tapping out a reply to Chanyeol.

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Bet I wouldn’t be the first one you’d do that to lmaooo_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_I thought Jongdae needed a hookup, but you clearly need one more_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Let me know when you’re done playing because I really need to talk to you_

The idol closes the chat and pulls his earphones out of his pocket, plugging them in his phone. Chanyeol’s probably playing, so Baekhyun is willing to bet he won’t be replying him anytime soon.

He turns on some music and lays his head back in his seat, resting it on the window and closing his eyes.

His phone vibrates and his brows furrow.

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_are you sick?_

_What kinda question is that?_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_No, why?_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_are you dying?_

There’d be question marks all over Baekhyun’s face right now if that was possible. 

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_No!!_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Why are you asking these questions wtf???_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_to make a point_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_dont call me while im playing unless its an emergency or_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_i will cut u off_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Chanyeol you need help_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Did you not read what I said??_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Call me AFTER you’re done playing!!!_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_that would cut into my sleeping time tho_

** _To: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_Then stop playing earlier!_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_did you really just suggest that?_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_you know what?_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_fine_

** _From: Park Chanyeol:_ **

_but no earlier than 2am ur time or so help me_

Baekhyun smirks to himself as he types out his response. 

The car stops, though, before he could send it, and he looks out the window to see his dancers rushing to the door on his side.

He immediately locks his door and points to the other side of the car with a playful glare on his face. They both laugh as they go around the car.

The younger of the two, Sehun, gets in the car first and sits next to him, while Jongin sits on the other side. 

“Seatbelt, you two!” Junmyeon says as the two oblige. He turns around and offers them both a satisfied smile as he hears the click of their seatbelt buckles. “Did you have fun?” He asks.

“We did~” Sehun says as he rests his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder. 

Baekhyun tries to shrug him off, but Sehun just interlocks both his arms with the idol’s and pouts. 

“Are you still mad about the bathroom?” He asks. “We’re sorry, hyung.” Sehun says.

Whether he’s serious or mocking him, Baekhyun has no clue. 

“We really couldn’t help ourselves, you know?” Sehun continues.

Baekhyun shivers. “Stop talking!” He says. “It’s fine. As long as it’s _clean_ again by the time we make it back to the hotel.” 

“I’m sure it’s all cleaned up now~” Jongin says. “We’ll let you go first this time, too.” He adds as he leans his head against the window on his side. 

Sehun chuckles. “Hyung, stay still. I wanna rest my eyes for a bit.” He says as he leans his entire upper body on the idol’s shoulder, burying his face.

Baekhyun lets him, letting out a sigh and resting his own head against the window. 

He resumes his music and allows his eyes to drift shut.

It’s been a long day, after all.

——————

Baekhyun should be sleeping. Rehearsal for his first concert in China starts in a couple of hours, and he certainly could use the rest after today.

They decided to have dinner before returning to the hotel, so they only made it back there at around 9.

And Baekhyun was dead tired when they finally returned.

He went to his own room and got ready to sleep, then made his way to his manager’s room, plopping down on the double bed where Junmyeon was just about to fall asleep.

Baekhyun did manage to get a couple of hours asleep. His mind, however, had woken him up sometime around one with the reminder of his phone call with Chanyeol.

All the idol could think of is Chanyeol as he lies down next to his manager. He hasn’t heard his voice in days and it was somewhat unsettling.

He got too accustomed to Chanyeol’s presence over the past month, and it was a mistake on his part.

Baekhyun kept telling himself repeatedly that he shouldn’t be doing this. That he shouldn’t be thinking about Chanyeol or feeling these things towards him… Especially since he’s an idol.

Not that he would _date_ Chanyeol, — with the way the he is, Baekhyun could only _wish_ for a relationship with him — but his behaviour recently could attract unwanted attention to Chanyeol, and Baekhyun didn’t want that for the other.

It’s almost two now. Almost time for him to call.

Is _Chanyeol_ going to call though? Or should Baekhyun call? 

Baekhyun sighs. He shouldn’t overcomplicate a mere phone call. 

He kicks the duvet covers off and he slides out of the bed, careful not to wake Junmyeon up. Poor thing had to deal with the two children they brought with them all day and seems so fatigued. He was fast asleep before 10.

It’s their first time going abroad, so they were really excited and extra energetic throughout the entire day. And being left to roam around freely while Baekhyun was at the fan event didn’t exactly help drain away any of their excess energy.

Sehun surprised them all with his Mandarin at the restaurant. Even Jongin didn’t know about it until earlier today when they were exploring, and they _live_ together. 

Baekhyun smiles, shaking his head as he put his slippers on and tries to make a stealthy exit. 

Junmyeon would just drag him back to bed if he caught him, full aware that Baekhyun is going to rant all day tomorrow if he doesn’t get enough sleep. 

_What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him~_

The idol made it out of the room, making sure to close the door as quietly as he could when he left. 

He grins as he practically skips through the hotel corridors with his phone in hand, gripping it tightly in fear of dropping it for the first time in his life. 

Baekhyun ends up in the rooftop bar during his search for a quiet place to talk on the phone. 

What he likes about hotel bars is that they’re empty all the time, which gives him enough privacy as he snuggles into one of the armchairs in a secluded corner, away from the bartenders working the night shift.

He stares at his phone, putting his earphones on as he watches the digital clock strike two and he takes a deep breath. He blinks for a few seconds, and then he clicks his tongue.

_Who am I kidding? Chanyeol isn’t going to start this phone call._

So Baekhyun takes matters into his own hands. He technically told him anytime after two was fine. He isn’t going to end up on Chanyeol’s hit list or whatever.

Just as he was about to call, though, his phone starts vibrating. 

_No way…_

Chanyeol is actually _calling._

He suddenly feels flustered. Does this mean that Chanyeol _wants_ to talk to him?

For a while a few weeks back, he started feeling like a burden. Like he was throwing himself at Chanyeol a bit more than necessary. 

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Baekhyun answers, an he hears Chanyeol’s deep — tired also, perhaps? — voice immediately. 

_“This better be important, Byun.”_ Chanyeol voice carries out clearly.

Baekhyun wants to let out a laugh, but holds it in.

“It is, I promise~” He says instead. “Did I worry you?” 

There’s a short moment of silence on the other hand and he hears Chanyeol sigh.

_“Yes, actually. I almost died.”_ He says.

Baekhyun frowns in confusion. But before he asks for a clarification, Chanyeol continues.

_“In the game, I mean.”_

_Shit._

“Ohhh. Damn, I thought you had a near-invincible armour though?” Baekhyun asks.

In all the times he spent at Chanyeol’s watching him play, Baekhyun learned that it’s not like him to lose focus when he was playing. He takes the game way too seriously, after all.

If only he knew that there was literally no point in this phone call other than the fact that he wanted to hear his voice before his concert tomorrow. 

_“Yeah.”_ Chanyeol says. _“Imagine how distracted I had to be to almost die wearing that.”_

Baekhyun chuckles nervously. “Yeah… I can only imagine!” He says, twirling his earphones’ wire around his index finger.

_“So? What is it that I almost lost eight years worth of work over?”_ Chanyeol asks. 

“Uh… You see…” Baekhyun starts.

Chanyeol remains quiet as Baekhyun’s mind churns for an excuse that won’t end this phone call and their friendship.

“Tomorrow’s my first concert abroad and I’m a nervous wreck.” 

_Not really…_

“…And I don’t know. It’s scary just imagining going up there to a whole new audience. What if I do or say something offensive? What if they think I’m not good enough?” 

He almost feels bad for lying.  


_“Isn’t this kinda talk what your manager’s there for? I don’t think I’m qualified to give you any advice here…”_

“Yeah, but—”

_“All I can tell you is that,”_ Chanyeol raises his voice a little to cut him off. _“You’ll do great, Baekhyun. You sing well and you have charisma both on and off stage.”_

_This guy…_

Baekhyun blinks. This wasn’t what he was expecting Chanyeol to say.

He’s actually more excited about tomorrow than he is nervous. His Chinese fans gave him a warm welcome today, both in the airport and in the fan signing event, which washed away all the nervousness he felt before coming here.

Chanyeol’s comforting words have made him tongue-tied for probably the first time in his life.

_“Reminder that you won’t be able to contact me ever again the next time you do something like this while I’m busy.”_

_There’s the Chanyeol I know…_

Baekhyun chuckles. “I know, I know. I’m sorry!” He says.

Chanyeol is quiet on the other end, leaving Baekhyun to stare up at the clear night sky.

_“Are you still nervous?”_ Chanyeol asks.

“Yes.” Baekhyun lies. “Let’s play a game~” He says.

_“Will it help end this call faster so that I can get at least a couple of hours of sleep?”_ Chanyeol asks.

“Please, don’t act like you don’t sleep at 4 every nigh— _morning.”_ Baekhyun says. “But yes, it will~!”

Chanyeol chuckles and Baekhyun’s breath gets caught up in his throat. _“Fine.”_ He says.

Baekhyun coughs. 

_“Are you okay?”_ Chanyeol asks. 

“I’m fine!” Baekhyun says, clearing his throat.

_“Alright.”_ Chanyeol says. _“What kinda game do you wanna play?”_ He asks.

“20 questions! Don’t really know any other game we can play over the phone…” Baekhyun says.

_“But I’m terrible at coming up with questions.”_ Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun hums. “How about I ask, and we both take turns to answer.” He says.

_“Are you sure you don’t have other friends to play with in the middle of the night?”_ Chanyeol asks.

“Nope, you’re the only one~” Baekhyun says. “Okay, let’s start with something simple.” 

“What did you think when you first saw me?” He asks.

Chanyeol takes a few seconds to think of an answer.

_“I really thought you were a serial killer or something.”_ Chanyeol says. _“Who dresses like that? You really scared me, you know.”_

Baekhyun laughs, making sure to keep it low enough as to not disturb the few number of customers in the bar.

“You really _don’t_ know anything about idols, do you?” He asks. “It’s how we _conceal_ our identities. Although it’s futile because some fans can recognise their faves just from the tip of their ears…” 

_“Are you serious?”_ Chanyeol asks.

“Yeah. Anyway, sorry about that! I really didn’t mean to scare you, but you looked like an easy target~!” Baekhyun says, chuckling. “You already know what I thought when I first saw you. The tips of your ears are hard not to stare at, I swear.” 

_“Please continue to appreciate them from afar.”_ Chanyeol says. _“Jongdae likes to bite them every once in a while and it really hurts!”_

Baekhyun gasps. “I want the privilege to bite them too!!” He says.

_“Never!!”_ Chanyeol raises his voice a little. _“Let’s forget about my ears and just move on to the second question, yeah?”_

“I want you to remember this moment, Park Chanyeol, because I will bite your ears someday.” Baekhyun says, chuckling. “Anyway, give me a second.”

_“Alright.”_ Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun glances around him and thinks. 

“Oh!” He says. “The most awkward thing that someone walked in on you doing?” 

He can hear Chanyeol humming on the other end of the line. 

_“It’s not much but when I was around 12, my sister walked in on me slow dancing with my puppy.”_ Chanyeol says. _“I can’t think of anything anything more awkward than that.”_

“Are you serious?” Baekhyun asks. “That’s not embarrassing.” 

_“She filmed me before showing herself.”_ Chanyeol says. _“She still watches it with my parents every once in a while and they’d all get frustrated that I’m not as_ cute _as I used to be.”_ He mocks. 

Baekhyun lets out a laugh. “I’m gonna have to ask Jongdae to see if he has a copy, oh my god!” 

_“DON’T!”_ Chanyeol shouts. _“He… Uh, he doesn’t! Your turn to answer!!”_

“Sure he doesn’t!” Baekhyun says as he laughs again.

He makes a mental note to ask Jongdae later. There’s no way he wouldn’t have the video somewhere. 

“Okay, so what I’m about to tell you is something only my poor manager knows about.” He says.

“I have this habit of using a hair dryer to dry my ass after I shower.” Baekhyun says. “Before you say anything, it actually makes putting on underwear and jeans easier… Towels aren’t enough sometimes!”

_“You’re so weird…”_ Chanyeol says. _“Is your manager the unfortunate soul that had to walk in on you doing…_ That?’ 

“Yes!” Baekhyun says. “He walked in, blinked a couple of times, and left the room while I shamelessly continued as I stared him right in the eye!” Baekhyun laughs.

_“Sounds like it was more awkward for him than it was for you.”_ Chanyeol states. _“You sure this counts as a proper answer to the question?”_

“Of course it does!” Baekhyun says. “Let’s move on, shall we?” 

_“Whatever you say, air-dried ass.”_ Chanyeol says.

“Funny. Give me a second to text Jongdae about that video~” Baekhyun says.

_“Okay, okay!!”_ Chanyeol says. _“Just ask the next question already!”_

Baekhyun snickers. “You really don’t want me to watch this video, do you?” He asks. “It makes me want to see it even more, damn…”

_“Ask the question, Byun Baekhyun.”_

_So scary when he’s embarrassed…_

But Baekhyun finds himself smiling instead.

“Fine~ What’s the scariest thing that ever happened to you as a kid?” The idol asks.

_“Uh… I think I was 15.”_ Chanyeol says. _“I woke up in the middle of night when everyone else was asleep to use the bathroom and—”_

“If this is a ghost story, please stop!” Baekhyun says. “I really won’t be able to sleep tonight.” 

_“It’s more of a friendly ghost, though?”_ Chanyeol says. _“It only picked up my pillow and put it back on my bed!”_

“Aahhh why did you continue!!” Baekhyun says, running his hands through his hair in frustration. 

_“You’ll get over it.”_ Chanyeol says, chuckling. _“Now your turn~”_

Baekhyun huffs. “I’m calling you again if I can’t sleep because of this.” He says. “This is more traumatising than scary, but I fell into a duck pond when I was little and got laughed at for hours.” 

_“Poor baby Byun!”_ Chanyeol says. 

Baekhyun can clearly hear a smile in his voice, which makes him look down at his lap, grinning to himself. He doesn’t say anything. 

_“Okay, let’s stop digging up the past. I finally came up with a question!”_ Chanyeol says.

The idol clears his throat. “It’s about time!” He says. 

_“What makes you decide whether you can trust a person or not?”_ The other asks. 

“Getting real personal straight away, _Park.”_ Baekhyun says. “Hmm… Any kind gesture, I guess. I’m kinda quick to trust others. What about you?” He asks.

He’s curious to know whether Chanyeol somewhat trusts him or not. They’ve known each other for a month and they’ve spoken plenty of times, but not as much as they did this night. 

_“I see.”_ Chanyeol says. _“I think first, it depends on how comfortable the other person is around me. And then of course, how comfortable_ I _am with them. Does that make sense…?”_

“I’ll bet it made more sense in your head.” Baekhyun says. 

_“Shut up. Do you have any more questions? This is so hard…”_ Chanyeol says.

“I do, actually.” The idol says. “When was the last time you cried?” He asks.

_“A few months ago.”_ Chanyeol answers immediately. 

“Care to share?” Baekhyun asks. “If you wouldn’t mind, I mean… I’ll understand if you’re not comfortable.” 

_“I guess… It’s fine if I tell you this.”_ Chanyeol starts. _“My parents cut me off financially. They still pay for my college tuition and apartment, but not other expenses because of how ‘irresponsible I am with spending’.”_ He says. _“I kinda fought with my dad about this, but that’s not the point._

_“I cried when I realised that I had no money to pay for my subscription.”_ Chanyeol says. _“Until I figured I could just get a part-time job.”_

Chanyeol spoke like it was the most traumatising experience of his life. Baekhyun didn’t know whether it was appropriate to laugh at how unreasonable the other is with his gaming, or whether he should just tell him off.

“That’s… Heartbreaking.” He mocks. Chanyeol doesn’t seem to pick up on that, though. “But you made up with your parents, right?” Baekhyun asks.

_“Uh… Yeah.”_ Chanyeol says. “ _When’s the last time_ you _cried?”_ He asks.

His answer sounded like complete bullshit. But Baekhyun shrugs it off, not wanting to pry more than he already did. 

“Around the time we first met.” The idol says. “I got a lot of attention from the media for an appearance. It was good for my album sales and all that, but it was so sudden that I felt overwhelmed and cried.” 

_“Oh yeah. Jongdae made me watch the episode.”_ Chanyeol says. _“We both laughed a lot. You were great!”_

“Thank you!” Baekhyun says, smiling. 

That Park Chanyeol actually took the time to do something other than gaming in his free time is mind blowing.

Baekhyun looked at the time on his phone. It’s been half an hour. He should head back down and try to get some sleep before Junmyeon wakes him up again. 

He can’t bring himself to hang up, though.

“I thought of one more.” Baekhyun says. “What keeps you up at night?” He asks.

_“Honestly, nothing other than Jongdae’s screaming.”_ Chanyeol says, sighing. 

Baekhyun chuckles. “Yeah, nothing can keep me up either!” 

_Other than you._

Then he feigns a yawn the best he could. “I think we should call it a night. I gotta go back to sleep. Thanks for calling, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says.

_“Yeah, sure thing.”_ The other says. _“You can call anytime I’m not busy.”_

Baekhyun smiles. “Good night.” He says.

_ “Night, Baekhyunnie.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOME DEVELOPMENT! 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy, children! ♡

It didn’t make sense. Neither of them were answering their phones. 

Baekhyun has just returned from his trip to China, and it’s been about three days since he’s heard from Chanyeol and Jongdae.

They were both spamming the group chat that Jongdae had created for the three of them with messages the entire two weeks Baekhyun spent abroad. He would only reply them hours later when he was free, but they would always be there to read and reply almost right away.

They haven’t responded to any of his messages and phone calls for the past three days, and all he could think of on his flight back was that something bad must have happened.

As soon as he dumped his bags in his own apartment that he shared with Junmyeon, the idol took a taxi to Chanyeol’s place, not even informing his manager of where he was headed.

_It’s probably something stupid. It’s probably nothing…_

Baekhyun’s heart is racing as he presses on the buzzer that read ‘ _flat 111_ ’ over and over, until the electronic gate unlocks for him. It only tells him that he’s still alive in the very least, but relief doesn’t wash over him just yet. He needs to see it with his own eyes.

So he runs up the short flight of stairs to Chanyeol’s door as soon as he is inside, almost tripping as he ascends. He stands in front of the door, waiting for him to open it.

He hears some shuffling at the other side of the door, and braces himself for the worst.

Which is exactly what he’s greeted with as Chanyeol’s near dead eyes stare back at him, visibly gritting his teeth when he speaks out his words.

_“What?”_ He seethes. 

There’s this strange off-putting stench that came out when he opened the door, making Baekhyun frown.

Though after getting somewhat used to the smell, Baekhyun blinks at the owner. 

Chanyeol’s upper body is wrapped in his thick duvet, the strands of brown hair sticking out of it clearly greasy. His long pyjama pants — rarely ever worn in place of his usual shorts — hang loosely from his waist.

He takes a second glance look at the gamer’s face. His eyes are kind of red, clearly framed with dark circles even behind his glasses. He looks a little pale, too.

“You look like _shit.”_ Baekhyun says. “And did something die in here? Is this where you hid Jongdae’s body? Because the smell is just terrible.” 

“I swear to fucking god, Baekhyun, this is _not_ the time for you to be bothering me.” Chanyeol says, his nose clogged up and his voice hoarse. 

Baekhyun hesitates, leaning forward a little to peek into the apartment to see that it’s a complete mess. “Are you okay?” He asks as he takes in Chanyeol’s state, frown deepening. “Is Jongdae here too?” 

_“I AM!!”_ He hears him call from inside. _“CHANYEOL GET IN HERE, NOW!”_

Chanyeol shoots one last glare before turning around, leaving the door opened behind him and clumsily rushing inside. 

The idol sighs in relief as he walks in, closing the door behind him. He takes out the mask he shoved in his pocket when he walked up the driveway and puts it back on, because hell did he need it. He isn’t going to catch whatever disease was floating around the air of this dump.

He kicks his shoes off next to Jongdae’s slippers and he steps inside.

The further Baekhyun goes inside, the more his face twists up in disgust. 

_What the fuck happened over the weekend?_

Instant noodle cups all over the little kitchen counter, dirty dishes piled up in the sink, snack wrappers all over the floor as well as empty water bottles scattered about every single surface he could see.

Once he’s past the kitchen, he looks up at the living room to see the coffee table pushed to the side, more litter scattered on top of it, and Jongdae wrapped in a thin blanket, sitting with his legs crossed on top of the couch, giving Baekhyun his back. 

Chanyeol sat in the same manner on the floor in front of Jongdae, and they both have their eyes glued to their laptop screens. 

The windows and blinds are shut, making the idol feel rather suffocated at the smell and the overall appearance of the entire apartment. 

Baekhyun pauses in the living room, deadpanning at the sight of the two.

_All of this… Because of that stupid game?_

“BAEKHYUNNIE!” Jongdae exclaims, tapping away at his keyboard. “SHIT! We meant to call and give you a heads up but our phones died about two days ago!” He shouts.

The idol pinches the bridge of his nose, speechless. 

_Fucking hell._

“The only reason Yeolie hasn’t killed you yet is because we’re near the end of our marathon!” Jongdae says, cackling. 

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything. Instead, he walks up to Chanyeol’s room and closes the door. Neither of the two say anything, even as he made himself comfortable on Chanyeol’s bed.

_Ah… I rushed out here like an idiot, thinking something was wrong._

He lays on his back, head resting on Chanyeol’s pillow, covering his eyes with his forearm as he sighs. 

Why couldn’t he think straight? Everything he does is impulsive when Chanyeol’s involved. He couldn’t understand why… He was never like this.

Baekhyun’s had his fair share of crushes in the past, but he never acted this way before. 

_I wonder what Chanyeol thinks of any of this. Or if he even thinks about this…_

His thoughts are interrupted when he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket, pulling it out with his other hand and bringing it up to his face. Eyes squinting at the brightness, he grips it tightly with both hands, careful not to drop it.

Two missed calls from Junmyeon, and one from Sehun.

Baekhyun sighs again, knowing better than to keep Junmyeon in the dark for too long. He calls him back, bringing it up to his ear. And it only takes two rings for his manager to answer.

_“Where did you run off to?”_ Junmyeon asks. 

“I remembered I forgot something important at a friend’s place.” Baekhyun says, keeping his voice low.

Junmyeon sighs. _“Is it that gamer guy again?”_

Baekhyun gives a hum as an answer. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” He says.

_“Fine. I’ll pick you up at 10.”_

The idol doesn’t say anything more, closing his eyes and listening to the faint noise coming from the living room. His manager also stays silent on the other end of the phone, and Baekhyun almost thinks he hung up already.

Until Junmyeon starts talking again, bringing up a topic Baekhyun has brushed off millions of times already in the past month.

_“Baekhyun…”_ He says. _“He_ is _just a friend, right? It wouldn’t be a problem otherwise but I’m just making su—”_

He hums in response again, cutting him off. “Nothing to worry about, hyung.” Baekhyun murmurs. 

_“Okay.”_ Junmyeon says, although he sounded reluctant to Baekhyun. _“Don’t forget you have a schedule early in the morning. I’ll see you later.”_

And the line cuts off, just like that.

Baekhyun locks his phone, and loosens his grip on it, allowing it to drop near his head. 

Junmyeon is warning him about his behaviour now. Heck, even Sehun and Jongin have noticed something different about him whenever he was texting Chanyeol, and have teased him about whether he was sexting someone or something.

He takes in a deep breath, and feels his heart slowly stop racing from his earlier haste. 

_What is he doing to me?_

_——————_

Baekhyun is startled awake by his ringtone piercing through his right ear, his eyes snap open, and it hits him that he’s dozed off on Chanyeol’s bed.

He hears someone groaning next to him. “Turn that damn thing off…” 

The idol’s eyes widen even further as he sits up, muting his phone before looking to his left side. 

“Chanyeol?” He asks, nudging the taller wrapped in a cocoon of blankets.

“What do you want?” Chanyeol asks, untangling his upper body to reveal the worst case of bedhead Baekhyun has ever seen. 

He somehow looks even worse than he did earlier. How many hours ago was that?

Baekhyun picks his phone up to see that it’s only been two hours since then. It’s almost 10, so his manager must be waiting outside by now. 

He sighs. He still doesn’t know how he fell asleep like that, and in such an uncomfortable position, too, as he usually slept on his stomach or either of his sides.

“Did you get any sleep?” Baekhyun asks, rubbing one of his eyes.

“About 10 minutes.” Chanyeol says. “I have no energy left in me and I can’t even manage tofall sleep.” 

“What the hell have you two done this weekend?” Baekhyun asks. “And you’re sick, aren’t you?” He adds, putting his hand against his mouth to make sure he’s still wearing his mask.

“Gaming marathon. And yes I am.” Chanyeol mumbles.

“You _do_ know that I can’t afford to get sick, right?” Baekhyun asks. “You could’ve at least woken me up before lying down next to me!” 

“You do know this is _my_ bed, right?” Chanyeol retorts. “And you looked tired. You were even moaning like a cat— Jongdae’ll show you the video when he gets back.” He adds. “Besides, you tried to kick me when I poked your cheek.” 

“Kim Jongdae did _what?”_ Baekhyun asks. 

Chanyeol starts laughing, unable to control himself, but it quickly turns into a coughing fit instead. It made Baekhyun jump off his bed in an instant, backing up to his room’s closed door. 

It only made Chanyeol laugh even more as he sits up and tries to suppress his dry coughs. 

“Cover your mouth!” Baekhyun whines, holding onto his mask. “Your immune system sucks. How did you catch a cold when you’re indoors all the damn time — wait, never mind. I can see how you got sick.”

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae shouts from behind him as he opens the door, holding up a bag of what he assumed contains their dinner. _“I’ll_ explain! He wanted my cold, so he kissed me~!” 

The idol’s eyes widened and he almost chokes on the air that caught up in his throat from the sudden information thrown his way.

“I mean, I can’t say I’m surprised. But what the hell Chanyeol, why on earth would you _intentionally_ catch a cold?” Baekhyun asks.

“So he’d have a valid reason to take a couple of days off work, of course.” Jongdae says like it’s the most natural thing. 

“First of all, I didn’t _kiss_ Jongdae. I would _never_ go anywhere near that mouth of his, because I don’t know where it’s been!” Chanyeol says, clearing his throat. 

“RUDE!” Jongdae shouts. “And to think I actually put on pants to go buy cold medicine and ingredients for remedies for an asshole like you!”  
  
“You’ll get over it!” Chanyeol shouts, his voice cracking. He clears his throat again, pounding on his chest this time.

“Why do you need a _valid reason_ to get off work? You could’ve just lied about the cold.” Baekhyun says. 

“Yeah right.” Chanyeol says. “Last time I did that, Kyungsoo came to check in on me before his morning shift and dragged me to work by my ear when he saw that I wasn’t _actually_ sick.” He shakes his head. “I had to miss out on an important session because of one lie.” 

“So your solution was to catch a cold _on purpose_ …” Baekhyun trails off, narrowing his eyes. “For a gaming marathon?” He asks.

Chanyeol nods once, pushing his glasses up when they slid off his nose.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Baekhyun asks. Then he turns to look at Jongdae. “And you just put up with all of this?” He asks.

Jongdae just laughs, nodding his head “I told you many times already, he takes this _too_ seriously!” 

“Shut up, Jongdae!” Chanyeol shouts. 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes at the two. 

_There they go again, yelling at one another._

Whenever one of them takes a jab at the other, they both start shouting, and progressively get louder to try and drown out the other’s voice. The longer it goes, the more whiny Jongdae’s voice gets and Chanyeol ends up covering his ears and giving in to his friend. 

Baekhyun has witnessed this so many times, he’s almost immune to it. 

_Why is my crush only getting more serious when I’m_ this _weirded out by him?_

He was starting to question his own sanity. Is Chanyeol contagious? Is Baekhyun blinded by his crush, just as Chanyeol is blinded by his addiction? 

‘I, uh…” Baekhyun starts to say.

“See, Chanyeol?” Jongdae asks. “This is why we don’t have normal friends! You chase everyone away!” 

“Byun Baekhyun is _not_ normal!!” Chanyeol shouts back.

“Hey!” Baekhyun protests, but was cut off by Jongdae’s shouting.

“He’s closest to normal than anyone we’ve ever met!” 

Baekhyun blinks, turning his head from Chanyeol to Jongdae whenever one of them raises his voice at the other. Chanyeol’s voice is barely coming out anymore as he tries to keep up with Jongdae.

The idol takes a deep breath. 

“ENOUGH!” Baekhyun shouts, causing the two to look at him. “I can’t believe I actually wasted my time coming here!” He says. “I _really_ thought something happened to you two! And I come in here to find you two locked up in this disease ridden apartment you call a home, looking like you haven’t showered or eaten anything proper in _days,_ playing that stupid game!!” 

“I’m taking off. I’m gonna have a busy schedule for the next few days, so I swear if this happens again, I won’t forgive you idiots!” 

They’re both left quietly starting at Baekhyun as he glares at them.

“See what you did, Chanyeol?” Jongdae asks quietly. 

“This is your fault too, you know.” Baekhyun tells him. “Bye assholes~ See you in a few days!” 

Baekhyun starts walking out to the living room, before being called back into Chanyeol’s room. He turns back on his heels and pokes his head in. 

“What?” He asks sharply. 

“Take this!” Chanyeol says as he tosses something to him. It makes a jiggling sound as it flies across the room, almost hitting Jongdae in the face as he swiftly dodges, before it drops on the floor in front of Baekhyun. He picks up a set of keys.

“This should open both the gate and my door.” Chanyeol says. “For future reference, if you make me leave my post during our next marathon, I won’t be let you off as easily as I did today.” 

Baekhyun raises a brow. “You’re really giving someone you’ve only known for a month a key to your apartment because you don’t want them to interrupt your gaming?” He asks.

“Yes.” Chanyeol says.

Jongdae smacks his forehead so hard, he has to rebalance himself.

Baekhyun would’ve done so as well if it weren’t for both of his hands being occupied, one holding his phone, which is still vibrating, while the other one holds out the keys in front of him. He stares at them with a look of disbelief.

“You’re so weird…” He says before walking back out to the door, putting the key in his back pocket.

When he’s slipping his shoes on out of their sights, he can’t stop a smile from creeping into his face.

_He_ does _trust me._

Although for entirely different reasons than what he’d been hoping for. 

This is still progress.

——————

“Hyung, who’re you visiting?” 

The car starts slowing down as they enter Chanyeol’s quiet neighbourhood. Of course, Sehun being as curious — _nosy_ — as he is, has to ask about their whereabouts, while Jongin just looks at him in anticipation of his answer. He’s just as nosy, just not very vocal about it.

Baekhyun turns his head to look out the window instead. “My girlfriend~” He says.

It’s late in the evening, and they had just finished dance practice. They still have a lot more to do, of course, but they’ve all been working hard as it is. They deserve a break, Junmyeon thought, so Baekhyun decided to test out the key he’d been given earlier this week.

Sehun and Jongin tagged along for a ride back home, and Baekhyun was hoping Junmyeon would take them there first but it seems this was more convenient for him. 

“See? I told you!” Jongin shouts all of a sudden.

Baekhyun looks back at the two sitting, flicking his eyes from one amused face to the other. “What?” He questions.

Sehun and Jongin laugh. 

“You’ve been acting weird recently and Jongin thought it was because you got yourself a girlfriend.” Sehun says.

“Sehunnie thought you were dying.” Jongin says. 

Baekhyun snickers as the car pulls over in front of the familiar driveway, he starts unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door.

Before he’s out, he listens to what his manager has to say.

“He’s just kidding, boys.” Junmyeon says. “Don’t bother the poor guy for too long, okay, Baek? I’ll see you in a couple of hours!” 

“Okay.” Baekhyun responds before leaving the car and closing the door behind him. 

He walks up to the electronic gate and stops there, waiting for the vehicle to move out of sight. 

As soon as it does, Baekhyun fishes the keys out of his pocket. He attached them with the rest of his keys, labelling them with a black marker because he had nothing else at the time. 

It takes him a second to try out which key belongs to the gate, but he manages to open it, smiling when it works. 

He steps in, turns around to close the gate as carefully as he could, when he takes note of two tall figures sneaking in so casually behind him. When did they even follow him?

“What do you think you two are doing?!” Baekhyun asks, mindful of the volume of his voice. He wanted to shout at the two, but knew better than to do so.

They cackle. “Junmyeonnie hyung already drove off.” Sehun says.

“You’re stuck with us!” Jongin adds.

Baekhyun closes the gate anyway, sighing. “This friend of mine has a temper, you know. Just—” He says, adjusting the baseball cap he’s wearing. “Don’t act like how you usually would, okay?” 

Sehun and Jongin both nod in understanding, the playful smiles on their faces telling Baekhyun otherwise.

“Hyung, you must be really close with this _friend_ to have a copy of their keys.” Jongin says.

_Great…_

Baekhyun shoots them both a look before walking up to Chanyeol’s door. He switches to the other key, and begins unlocking it.

_“He_ and I _are_ close.” Baekhyun says, not bothering to look at them as he answers.

His dancers stand patiently — and quietly for once — behind him as he pushes the door open, motioning for them to go in.

They step in, taking their shoes off and standing in the hall awkwardly as they wait for Baekhyun to close the door behind them and take his own shoes off.

If Chanyeol _is_ home, he isn’t alerted yet. Baekhyun walks past his dancers, and steps into the kitchen and living room area, taking the liberty to turn the lights on.

_At least he cleaned up after that disgusting weekend._

“Chanyeol!” He calls out.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol pokes an arm out of his room’s door. “In here! Give me a second.” He says.

“Okay~” Baekhyun says. “I hope you don’t mind but—”

He’s interrupted by Chanyeol. “I got you one of those tarts back from work, it’s in the fridge!” 

_What?_

He exchanges a look with his dancers, brows raised. They seemed to be in-sync today, just like they were in the practice room earlier, when they both shrug and give him the same type of mocking smirk.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes as he makes his way to the fridge and opens it. Sure enough, a takeout box is sitting there amongst all those energy drinks and containers of side dishes. 

“I was trying to say—” Baekhyun says but is cut off yet again.

“Just eat the damn tart and wait, would you?” Chanyeol shouts, shutting his room’s door with a loud thud.

“FINE!!” Baekhyun yells back, scowling as he looks at the tart before slamming the fridge’s door in response. 

The idol walks to the couch and sits down, resting his legs up on the coffee table. If he was craving that tart in the first place, he would have gone to the café. It didn’t make sense why Chanyeol brought him one from work when he didn’t ask for it. Hell, he didn’t even know he was coming. So why did he? 

He turns to look at his companions, motioning for them to come closer.

“Why are you two just standing there?” He asks.

“Hyung… Is it okay for us to be here while he’s…” Jongin says.

“While he’s what?” Baekhyun questions.

“While he’s jacking off in there.” Sehun finishes.

Baekhyun’s jaw nearly drops to the floor, his cheeks start to flare up and his eyes widen.

The idol thinks that it may _seem_ like the case to others, but those who know Chanyeol, know that he’s just having an intense gaming session in there. For all Baekhyun knows, Chanyeol probably doesn’t engage in any… Sexual activities. 

“NO!” Baekhyun shouts, sitting up and putting his legs down. “No no no!!! He’s just playing a game!” 

Jongin reaches out with one of his hands to rub his nape, clearly uncomfortable. “That— It honestly doesn’t sound any better.” He says.

“A _computer_ game!!” Baekhyun clarifies. 

Both his dancers visibly relax. Then those smiles of theirs are back in place. 

“This is such a relief…” Sehun says. “I could’ve been scarred for life, you know?” 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “I’m sure you’ll live, don’t be dramatic.” He says. “And don’t act like you haven’t done something like that before, Sehunnie.” 

Jongin’s grin couldn’t get any wider as he laughs at Baekhyun’s statement. 

“That goes for you too, Jonginnie~” Baekhyun says, leaning back on the couch and crossing his legs.

“CHANYEOL!” He suddenly shouts.

When Baekhyun is ignored, he takes a deep breath before shouting again. “THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE HERE TO MEET YOU!” 

“I’m almost done!” Chanyeol yells casually — almost sweetly.

Are those ears of his selective about what they want to hear? Baekhyun assumed he couldn’t hear him the first time because of the headphones he’s sure Chanyeol has on. 

He sighs. “Shouldn’t be long, then. Why don’t you call Junmyeon hyung to pick you up after you’ve met him?” 

“You’re not getting rid of us that easily.” Jongin says.

Sehun nods. “Hyung told us to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

Jongin elbows Sehun’s arm, making the younger wince. 

Baekhyun frowns. So _that’s_ why he dropped them off and drove away like the untrusting mother he is. 

“I’m sure he just wanted to get rid of you.” Baekhyun says instead. 

They both start mumbling under their breaths to one another, stopping when Chanyeol’s bedroom’s door suddenly swings open.

Baekhyun glances over to see him in the same outfit he’d been wearing earlier in the week. At least he looks like he’d showered this time because his hair looks clean as it fell over his forehead. 

Sehun and Jongin both bow to him. 

“Excuse us for intruding…” Jongin says, Sehun nodding along with him.

“Chanyeol, these are my _backup dancers,_ Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun~” Baekhyun says., pointing at each of them as he introduces them. “Boys, this is my friend Park Chanyeol.” 

They both shake Chanyeol’s hand, who greets them silently with a shy smile. 

He’s never seen him smile like that. And he’s never noticed that little dimple on his left cheek.

_So cute…_

Baekhyun shakes his thoughts away. He’s reminded — by that smile, no less, — that Chanyeol is actually awkward around people he’s just met. Which is why they’re all just staring at one another. 

Jongin is kind of shy too, so he’s left staring hard into the ground while Sehun eyes dart around the room, avoiding everyone’s gazes with an unreadable expression on his face.

The idol turns to look at Chanyeol, to see that he’s staring at him with wide eyes, as if waiting for him to say something.

_Right._

“Ahh sorry I brought them with me!” Baekhyun says to break the silence. “Are you done playing?” He asks.

Chanyeol only nods. 

Baekhyun chews at his bottom lip. This couldn’t get anymore awkward.

“Would you two like something to drink?” Chanyeol addresses the dancers, keeping his voice so low, Baekhyun has a hard time recognising it altogether. 

He didn’t ask Baekhyun that when he first visited. 

“We’re fine, thank you~” Sehun says with a smile.

“Please feel free to sit down.” Chanyeol says. “Have you eaten dinner yet?” He asks.

_Has he always been_ this _polite?_

The couch dips next to him as Sehun sits down, while Jongin crouches down on the floor next to him, crossing his legs.

“No.” Baekhyun says on their behalf. “And I’m sure you haven’t either, so I’ll order something…” 

Baekhyun quietly takes his phone out and opens up an online food delivery app, scrolling through the long list of restaurants available for delivery at this hour.

Chanyeol sits on the couch’s armrest next to him, peeking into his phone and quietly helping him choose something that’s good. He knows the area better, after all.

When they settle on a restaurant, Baekhyun picks out his own dish, and what he knows Jongin and Sehun like. He hands his phone over to Chanyeol for him to pick something for himself, then he places the order once Chanyeol is finished.

“Done. Should be here in about 40 minutes!” Baekhyun says.

When he doesn’t receive any kind of reaction from the other two, he turns to look at them. Sehun is on his phone and Jongin is staring long and hard at the TV. He looks frightened to Baekhyun.

Is it because of those figures? 

“Hey…” Jongin says. “What’s that over there?” He asks, pointing in front of him.

“The figure— I mean, collectables?” Baekhyun says.

“No… The huge thing crawling on that figure’s boobs.” Jongin says, getting on his feet and backing up against the wall behind Sehun.

They all turn their heads in the direction, and Baekhyun’s eyes widen slightly.

Chanyeol is off the armrest, and he looks like he’s about to bolt right out of the room entirely.

Without realising it, Baekhyun stands on the couch wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s neck to stop him from escaping.

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?” Baekhyun yells. “THIS IS _YOUR_ HOUSE, THAT IS _YOUR_ PROBLEM, _KILL IT!”_

“YOU’RE EXPECTING TOO MUCH FROM ME, BAEKHYUN, WHY DON’T _YOU_ KILL IT?” Chanyeol shouts, trying to pry Baekhyun’s arms away from him. 

“WOULD SOMEONE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS ALREADY?” Jongin shouts, pushing Sehun off the couch with his feet.

“It’s just a spider…” Sehun says. “Why’re you all afraid?” He mumbles as he gets off the couch and walks closer to the bug.

He turns to look at Chanyeol, whose vision is obstructed by Baekhyun’s arms. 

“Bug spray?” Sehun asks. 

“Ran out!” Chanyeol responds.

“Um… Body spray? Hair spray?” Sehun says.

“BAEKHYUN LET GO OF ME!!” Chanyeol shouts, his voice cracking and he starts coughing. Seems he isn’t completely over his cold just yet, so Baekhyun finds himself quickly letting Chanyeol out of the tight hold he has on him. He also pushes Chanyeol away from him for good measure.

Chanyeol shoots him a glare as his coughs die out. “Will either of those help?” He asks Sehun, clearing his throat.

“Yes.” Sehun says, turning back to keep his eyes on the spider in front of him.

When Chanyeol starts moving to retrieve whichever requested item, Baekhyun immediately grabs the back of his shirt and follows him to his room.

“This is what happens when you don’t clean regularly!” Baekhyun tells him as Chanyeol searches his dresser. 

“Yixing Hyung told me you’re not so clean yourself, so shut up!” Chanyeol says.

_Damn that dimpled man._

“Whatever, just hurry!” Baekhyun says.

When he pulls out a can of hair spray from one of the drawers, he rushes back to the living room, going as far as the coffee table to place it there.

Sehun thanks him and picks it up, aiming at the spider.

“Alright guys, you’re about to witness something special.” Sehun says as he starts spraying the spider. 

The poor creature moves so suddenly and so quickly, Chanyeol starts screaming and runs back to his room with Baekhyun still hanging onto his shirt, and shuts the door.

They’re both panting as they hear Jongin’s whimpers and Sehun’s loud footsteps chasing the spider to the kitchen. 

But all of that noise doesn’t quite register in Baekhyun’s head as he finds himself enveloped in a hug. From _Park Chanyeol._

_Chanyeol is hugging me… Why is Chanyeol hugging me?_

Before being in a tight embrace between Chanyeol’s surprisingly strong arms — which he probably gained from moving his hands so much from all the gaming he does — takes his mind further away, the taller pulls back and clears his throat, letting out a cough.

Baekhyun looks away and moves slowly to sit on Chanyeol’s bed instead.

“How manly of you.” He mutters.

“You’re not so _manly_ yourself, you know.” Chanyeol responds. 

The idol props his arms back on the surface of Chanyeol’s bed, leaning back. “Fair enough~” He says. “Just imagine if those two hadn’t snuck in behind me, we’d be trapped here with a spider outside.” 

“Right?” Chanyeol says, rubbing his neck to ease his throat a little. 

“You’re still sick?” Baekhyun asks.

“No, it’s just this stupid cough won’t go away.” Chanyeol says.

“Oh. You’re not contagious anymore, right?” Baekhyun asks further, just to make sure he won’t catch anything. 

Chanyeol hums. “I’m not sure, actually. Aren’t I supposed to be contagious for like a week?” He says.

Baekhyun nods. “And how long has it been?”

“Just a little over a week, so you’re good!” Chanyeol says, opening his door a little and peeking into the living room once things have quieted down. “Did you get it?” He asks.

Baekhyun gets up and stands on the tip of his toes from behind the taller to look. 

He sees Sehun holding a crumpled up tissue in Jongin’s direction on the top of the couch as he cowers in fear. Poor guy looks like he’s on the verge of tears. 

“I did.” Sehun says, waving the tissue around at them. 

With a loud thump, Jongin lands on his ass on the floor. Good thing the couch wasn’t too high up, otherwise they’d all be fussing over him instead of laughing at him.

Chanyeol swings the door open and steps back into the living room, and Baekhyun follows.

“Thanks for taking care of that. But please get rid of it.” Chanyeol says to Sehun, as he nods and moves to the trash bin.

Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol moves to help Jongin, who seems to have given up on moving completely with his legs sticking up and resting on the couch’s armrest. 

He’s seen an entirely different side of Chanyeol in the past 10 minutes. 

Not the one that nearly damages his vocal cords shouting at Jongdae; not the one constantly trying to kick Baekhyun off his bed — and out of his apartment — for being too loud; not the one that spends the majority of his day gaming and completely ignoring every other aspect of his life; and definitely not the clumsy waiter he developed feelings for.

This Chanyeol is awkward, sweet, polite, and every other positive trait in the world piled up into one person. 

And just like all the other sides of Park Chanyeol, it made Baekhyun’s heart race.

——————

The two dancers were quiet after they bid Chanyeol goodbye and followed Baekhyun back to the car. 

And as soon as they’re in, their mouths open.

“He’s a nice hyung.” Sehun says, nodding to himself.

“Weird, but nice.” Jongin adds. Baekhyun couldn’t see his expression as he sat in the passenger’s seat next to Junmyeon. 

“I can’t believe you sent them after me, hyung.” Baekhyun tells him, fastening his seatbelt and huffing. “ That you, of all people, would spy on me without even covering your tracks!”

“They wanted to introduce themselves to your girlfriend.” Junmyeon says, chuckling. “Did they behave?” He asks.

“Surprisingly.” Baekhyun mutters more to himself, pulling his earphones out of his pocket and putting them on.

“You have to meet him, Junmyeon hyung, it was so fun to watch him make a big deal out of everything…” Jongin says.

“You made him uncomfortable with all your stupid laughter!!” Baekhyun says.

“Hey, Jongin’s laugh is adorable, for your information.” Sehun says from next to him.

Baekhyun reaches out and punches his shoulder. “Yeah, not when it came out every damn time Chanyeol so much as breathed.” He says. “You really made things more awkward for him!"

“You know I can’t control myself in these kind of situations…” Jongin mutters, sounding like he was pouting.

“Then why did you follow me and _intentionally_ put yourself in that kind of situation?” Baekhyun asks.

Jongin shrugs. “Just wanted to meet the one who has you smitten~” He says.

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun asks. “I am _not_ smitten!” He says.

“I beg to differ.” Sehun says. “The way you wiped that jjajangmyeon sauce from the corner of his mouth like we weren’t even there…” He trails off. “You might as well have licked it off, hyung.” 

_Ah… I_ did _forget myself for a second there._

He didn’t know they were paying that much attention to him. He thought they were more absorbed in whatever was playing on TV as they ate. 

Baekhyun was too busy watching Chanyeol eat from his peripheral vision to notice that the two have also been watching _him_.

“That’s—” Baekhyun says, snorting. “He’s like an overgrown baby. If I hadn’t wiped that off, he would’ve made a mess!” 

“Right…” Jongin says. 

“Stop it, you two!” Junmyeon raises his voice. “Let me drive in peace for once, please!” 

“Fine~” Sehun says.

Baekhyun clicks his tongue as he starts playing his usual playlist, turning the volume up to the maximum to block out everyone else.

He’s not letting those two anywhere near Chanyeol again, that’s for sure. 

Why is Chanyeol the only one who seems to be oblivious to Baekhyun’s feelings? Jongdae and Yixing knew from a glance, Junmyeon had his suspicions from the very beginning, and now even Jongin and Sehun know.

Baekhyun’s not even being subtle anymore. He’s _trying_ to get his attention, but the gamer seems to be brushing it off as Baekhyun being overly friendly, as usual.

Though if Chanyeol _has_ already noticed, he’s doing a great job playing dumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response for this fic has been amazing so far!! I'm kinda overwhelmed ;◡; 
> 
> THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!! 
> 
> I really hope you're all enjoying the fic so far!! More progress soon, I promise!
> 
> As always, I'll be updating every Tuesday or Wednesday! ^^


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is on a Wednesday! ಥ_ಥ 
> 
> Anyway here's chapter five! Enjoy ♡

Chanyeol takes his time as he walks back home from his morning lecture. 

He hasn’t been to a single class since the second week of the semester. And now that it was almost ending, he figured he would go show his face to his fellow peers for once. And hand in a couple of assignments, of course — he didn’t pull an all nighter just to miss the deadline, after all. 

The further he got into his studies, the more he is glad for choosing literature as his major. No tests, no exams, just written assignments that didn’t require much of his attention, which was fine by him as long as he passes.

It’s a little late in the afternoon, and his neighbourhood is empty, which reassures him that he can now hum along to the music playing through his earbuds without feeling other people’s judging eyes on him.

He swings the plastic bag he’s carrying a little, allowing it to sway back and forth along with the movement of his arm. 

On his way to his apartment, he passed by the café, and something compelled his feet to stop moving once he was near the entrance door. He didn’t know what came over him. One moment he was staring at the side of Kyungsoo’s head through the window, and the next he’s taking out his wallet to pay for two chestnut tarts while the latter gave him a rather unusual smirk, as if he was on to something.

Chanyeol still doesn’t know why he had bought _two._

Last time he brought one for himself, it was kept in the fridge for two days until Baekhyun came and he offered it to him. He did end up eating it, so Chanyeol thought that he would _actually_ be considerate this time, especially since Baekhyun can’t come to the café anymore — for a while, at least, or so he’s been told by Jongdae. 

He slows down as he walks the driveway leading to his buildings gate to try and take his keys out of his jacket’s pocket. One of his pointier keychains stubbornly clings on to the insides of it, making him stop for a bit to manage.

When he finally pulls the keys out, he unlocks the gate and makes sure to close it behind him, then makes his way to his door and unlocks it, pushing it open with his foot. 

Chanyeol slips out of his shoes and shrugs his backpack off his shoulder as he walks in, stopping when he finds someone sitting on his couch.

He sighs, making his way to one of the kitchen counters to place the plastic bag he’d been carrying with him.

“Why are you always here?” He asks.

Jongdae looks away from his laptop’s screen and shrugs before fixing his eyes on the bag Chanyeol brought with him. 

“What’s that you got there?” His friend asks instead. 

“Oh,” Chanyeol says as he takes his phone out of his pocket and places it next to the bag, then starts taking his jacket off. “It’s just a tart for Baekhyun.” He says.

Jongdae raises a brow, but there’s an amused glint in his eyes that doesn’t reach his lips for once. “You never get _me_ anything…” He says.

“It’s only because he can’t come to the café anymore.” Chanyeol says. “You could’ve told me you wanted something on my way back.” He adds with a roll of his eyes. 

“Still would’ve been nice if you think about me every once in a while…” Jongdae says as he focuses his eyes back on his screen. 

“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.” Chanyeol says as he moves into the living room and sits next to Jongdae.

“You don’t ask _Baekhyun_ why he’s here all the time~” Jongdae says, smirking this time.

“That’s different!” Chanyeol says. 

Jongdae scoffs. “Oh yeah? How so?” 

_I don’t know…_

He couldn’t say that out loud, though, and it left him annoyed and unable to find a proper answer. So Chanyeol decides to lean to the side and allow all of his body weight to fall on Jongdae, causing him to fall to the side and almost drop the laptop resting over his crossed legs. 

“CHANYEOL!” Jongdae shouts. 

Chanyeol grins. “That was for breaking and entering!” 

“Is it really breaking and entering if I have your damn keys?” Jongdae asks, straightening himself up and repositioning his laptop.

“It is if I don’t want you here!” Chanyeol says, leaning back on the couch and pulling his legs up, resting them on the coffee table Jongdae had pushed closer to the couch to keep his papers on. “You still haven’t finished your assignments?” He asks.

“I just got started the second one.” Jongdae says, sighing. “I couldn’t concentrate anywhere, Yeol! I tried every single room in my place, I went to a café, I even went to the university’s _library,_ and nothing!” 

“And my place was your last choice? Ouch.” Chanyeol says. “Well at least you managed to start. Now that the hardest part is outta the way, you should finish within the next couple of hours, right?” 

Jongdae nods as he resumes his typing. “I knew I should’ve come here first. Your couch is where all the magic happens~!” 

“Uh.. Right.” Chanyeol says. “Do you want anything to eat while you work?” He asks.

“Nah, I brought some snacks and had some already. There’s more over there in the kitchen if you want.” Jongdae says gesturing in that direction with his chin. “Now leave me alone, I gotta finish this shit.” 

“The mistreatment…” Chanyeol says, shaking his head. “And here I was, ready to offer my services to try and ease your suffering.” He says.

“Chanyeol go to your room.” Jongdae says without looking away from his screen. “I love you but leave me alone for a couple of hours.” He adds, then he looks up and winks at Chanyeol. “We’ll _play_ afterwards, okay~?” 

“No. Bye Jongdae.” Chanyeol says, immediately getting off the couch and escaping to his room. “You creep.” He says before shutting his door, muffling Jongdae’s laughter. 

He changes to his usual home get-up, and throws the clothes he had gone out with in his closet. 

Chanyeol sits on his bed and takes off his glasses, placing them on his bedside table before laying his sleep-deprived body down.

How he was still awake after 32 hours was beyond him. 

He spent his night fighting sleep to finish his assignment on time, and he as soon as he handed it in, a surge of energy coursed through his body and he felt more awake than ever. Where was this energy when he actually needed it? 

His assignment was probably filled with typos — he wouldn’t know. He didn’t even spellcheck before printing it and handing it in. Not that he cared, really. He never did proof read any of his assignments throughout university and he sure as hell isn’t going to start in his fourth and final year. 

Chanyeol shifts his body a little to get under his duvet, and keeps twisting and turning until he gets in a comfortable enough position for him to close his eyes.

No thoughts went through his mind as he let sleep take over. 

——————

The next day, Chanyeol had gone to Jongdae’s place after class instead of his own. 

He felt guilty about not getting Jongdae anything on his way back home yesterday. Jongdae has been bringing him snacks from time to time recently without him even asking, since he’s been seeing him more often than before.

So he brought him lunch today as a sort of congratulations for managing to finish both his assignments on time. Needless to say, he would have missed the deadline this afternoon if he hadn’t taken a taxi to the university.

He uses his own set of keys to get the door opened, of course, because Jongdae is probably in deep sleep right now after the rough night he’s had. 

As he entered, though, he could see Jongdae is very much awake, unknowingly giving Chanyeol a wiggle of his ass along with the beat of the music he has blasting through his laptop’s speakers as he moves around in his kitchen to cook himself a meal.

Chanyeol frowns. “Hey!” He shouts, startling the other to some degree. 

Jongdae turns around and sighs in relief. He then moves to lower the his laptop’s volume a bit.

“This is rare. It usually takes a lot of nagging to get you to come here on your own!” Jongdae says, turning back to stir the contents of the saucepan he has on his stove. 

“I brought you food…”Chanyeol says as he lifts the takeout bag in front of his chest for Jongdae to see. 

And all Jongdae does when he turns around is repeatedly slam his palm into his forehead. 

——————

Chanyeol is laying on his stomach on the rug in the middle of Jongdae’s living room, mindlessly opening and checking every app on his phone because there is nothing else for him to do.

On the one hand, it felt nice to have his limbs sprawled out this way, and it made him contemplate getting rid of that coffee table of his, which he might, considering Jongdae is the only one who actually made good use of it. 

He decided to spend his day in Jongdae’s place since neither of them had anything to do. It was nearing the end of the semester, the time where a lot of assignments and papers are suddenly due. And it left Jongdae and Chanyeol feeling _dead._ They didn’t even have the energy to game, which is saying something since the usually have the ability battle sleep for hours to do just that. 

Chanyeol looks up from his phone and out the window. The only view Jongdae has is Chanyeol’s building, so he didn’t understand why Jongdae prefers to keep the curtains out of the way. It’s especially annoying when the sun is out. 

Speaking of which, it is only a little past six in the evening and it’s already so dark outside. He drops his phone on the ground and sighs, flipping to his side to face Jongdae who was lying on the couch with his arm hanging limply from the seat. 

At first glance, he looks like he has finally succumbed and allowed himself to fall asleep — physically. But his eyes are wide opened and he is staring intently at the ceiling. 

“Yeol,” Jongdae says, sounding a bit groggy. He hasn’t slept since yesterday and no matter how many times Chanyeol has convinced him to go to bed, he refused, saying he didn’t want to his sleeping schedule to be fixed. “Wanna go out?” He asks.

“What?” Chanyeol asks, blinking at him. 

Jongdae doesn’t move. “What?” He echoes Chanyeol.

“Di— did you really just suggest that we leave the comfort and warmth of your apartment? Are you okay?” Chanyeol asks, sitting up. 

“I don’t think I can tell left from right at the moment.” Jongdae says. “I can feel death coming and I don’t have the strength to shoo it away.” 

“Jongdae, why don’t you just sleep?” Chanyeol questions, furrowing his brows. 

“NO!” Jongdae shouts as he sits up on the couch, and Chanyeol wonders how he still has the energy to do that. “Let’s go out, Chanyeol, please! If I sleep now, I’ll wake up in the morning and my life would be _normal!”_ He says. “I DON’T WANT TO BE NORMAL!” 

Chanyeol sighs. He can’t believe he’s almost persuaded to leave. It’s too cold outside and the temperature will only continue to drop the later it gets. 

“Where do you wanna go?” He asks. “And who’s to know you won’t fall asleep on me while we’re out?” 

“I need a drink or five.” Jongdae says, crossing his legs atop his seat. “Take me a to a bar, Yeollie. I won’t sleep if I’m not in my bed!”

“You and I both know we’re not bar people.” Chanyeol says. “And you were just snoozing on the couch, don’t lie!” 

“I was just resting my eyes! Come on, let’s go, please! I love drunk Channie~!” 

Before Chanyeol could retort, Jongdae’s notification tone rings, and his attention is immediately shifted from Chanyeol to his phone, completely ignoring what he had to say.

Chanyeol shakes his head and grabs his own phone, seeing that it vibrating as well — he prefers to have it silent all the time because of the exact thing that was just done to him by Jongdae. 

“You gotta see what Baekhyun just sent.” Jongdae says, furiously typing at his phone.

Raising a brow, Chanyeol unlocks his phone and clicks on Baekhyun’s — and their group chat’s name on his notification bar. He starts reading through the messages he’s missed as more start piling up at the bottom of the chat. 

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_CHANYEOL_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_JONGDAE_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_YEOL_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_DAE_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_YEOLDAE_

** _From: Kim JD:_ **

_why not daeyeol??_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_Does it really matter????_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_It sounds stupid either way lol_

Chanyeol chuckles. Jongdae and Baekhyun’s interactions are always like this, and Baekhyun always somehow manages to make things end this way. 

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_Anyway look, I dyed my hair!_

Chanyeol blinks, tapping to enlarge the photo Baekhyun sent. It’s of him, sitting on a chair at what Chanyeol assumed is a hair salon, still wrapped in a black nylon gown with his hair only half dry.

And red. His once beautiful black hair is now copper red and Chanyeol could only continue batting his eyes at his phone’s screen. 

** _From: Kim JD:_ **

_how tf does your hair still look soft after bleaching_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_As if I’ll tell you any of my hair secrets_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_How does it look? I’ve never bleached my hair before so I’m kinda nervous_

“He looks good.” Chanyeol mumbles in response, scrolling back up to look at the preview of the photo in the chat. Then he scrolls back down to read the new messages.

** _From: Kim JD:_ **

_yeol says you look a m a z i n g_

“I didn’t say that, what the hell Jongdae?” Chanyeol says, waving his phone around in the air. 

Jongdae doesn’t even look up from his screen. He just snickers. Chanyeol sighs and brings his attention back to his phone. 

**_From: Baekhyun:_ **

_Really?_

** _To: Baekhyun, Kim JD:_ **

_i said u look good, not amazing_

** _To: Baekhyun, Kim JD:_ **

_don’t listen to jongdae, he’s been awake for 28hrs n he’s delusional_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_Thanks Chanyeol!!_

** _From: Kim JD:_ **

_what you’re not gonna ask for my opinion??_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_Probably negative_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_Chanyeollie’s is enough_ ♡

Jongdae snorts. “I’ll give him a piece of my mind…” He mutters to himself and Chanyeol anticipates what his friend would say to insult the idol.

** _From: Kim JD:_ **

_ok brick head_

** _From: Kim JD:_ **

_as of this moment i’m not longer an ally in your little endeavour_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_FINE BY ME!_

“What are you guys even talking about?” Chanyeol asks, looking up from his phone. “An ally in what?”

He looks back down at his phone when it buzzes again.

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_You weren’t doing that great of a job anyway_

** _From: Baekhyun:_ **

_I’ll manage on my own and what Byun Baekhyun wants, Byun Baekhyun gets!!!_

Jongdae starts laughing, pounding his fist on the couch cushion next to him.

** _From: Kim JD:_ **

_LMAOOO right we’ll see how far you can go without mu help_

_** From: Kim JD: ** _

_*my_

Jongdae locks his phone and puts it down on the couch next to him. A smile adorned his features and Chanyeol doesn’t know whether to be intimidated or weirded out.

“What was that about?” Chanyeol asks, closing his phone as well to focus on Jongdae. 

“Oh, it’s nothing~” Jongdae says. “Can we just go?” He asks.

“Don’t change the subject!” Chanyeol says. 

“I’ve known you for almost 10 years, Chanyeol, and I only realised how oblivious you are a few weeks ago.” Jongdae says.

Chanyeol frowns and tilts his head to the side, not understanding where Jongdae is going with this. 

_What’s he talking about?_

All he asked for was an explanation to what he and Baekhyun meant. 

Why is Jongdae bringing that up? Chanyeol is self-aware, at least at a degree enough to know that what Jongdae said is right. 

He never pays attention to anyone around him because he likes to mind his own business.

Jongdae lets out a sigh, squinting his eyes at Chanyeol quietly. 

“You’re even oblivious to your own—” Jongdae says, cutting himself out to sigh again. “I’ll only tell you if you take too long to realise it yourself.” 

“Realise what? What does this have to do with whatever you teamed up with Baekhyun for?” Chanyeol asks, more confused now than he was when he read their small exchange in the group chat. 

“I’ll tell you if you go out with me!” Jongdae says, chuckling.

Chanyeol groans. “Do we have to?” He asks. “I’m cold!” 

“Yes, if you want me to tell you what we were talking about, go get dressed. We’re just gonna go have dinner!” Jongdae says. 

“That’s not enough to get me to go change out of my pyjamas, you know.” Chanyeol says. 

“Come on, Yeollie~!!” Jongdae says, jumping off the couch and sitting on the floor in front of Chanyeol, leaning into him. “I _need_ to do this to stay awake!! Just a few hours!” 

Chanyeol tries to move away from him, and Jongdae leans even closer. “Okay, okay!” He shouts, shielding his face from Jongdae.

Jongdae laughs as he leans back, clearly satisfied with himself. “Come on, go get changed!” 

And Chanyeol does just that with a scowl on his face. He stands up, grabs his phone and keys before walking out of Jongdae’s apartment.

He can’t believe he is actually being forced to go out. By his fellow _introverted_ friend, no less.

——————

_Why did I let him convince me to go out?_

Jongdae took them to a small family owned restaurant where they were greeted and served by an elderly woman.

They have finished eating about an hour ago, and Chanyeol has been quietly drinking as he listened to Jongdae ramble about things he doesn’t know the meaning of.

Not a lot of customers were around, so most of the owners’ attention is on their table — more for Jongdae’s voice, which just kept getting louder the more alcohol he consumed. He’s now down to his third bottle, and would be on his fourth had Chanyeol not stopped him from snatching away one of his.

Chanyeol decided to take it easy and not drink as much. He’s only had two bottles of Soju so far, but he can’t hold his liquor as well as Jongdae can.

He has his head buried in his arm, which lies on top of the table. He clutches onto his third bottle with his other hand, feeling more sluggish than anything.

“Chanyeol!” Jongdae slurs his name, and he barely registers his friend is calling him. 

Chanyeol lifts his head up to meet his friend’s gaze, staring through his lidded eyes as he takes another gulp of the drink. The burning sensation in his stomach is long gone, replaced by an odd one in his head instead. 

“What?” He asks, his voice cracking to his surprise.

“Are you listening to me?” Jongdae asks, snorting. “You’re never like this when we’re drinking, are you okay?” 

He brings his head back to his arm, shaking it a bit more than necessary. “I wanna go home.” He mutters.

Chanyeol is not feeling good at all. From his spinning head, to his body not responding properly, and the strange sense of uncertainty. He doesn’t know whether it is from the alcohol or from something else, but he knows he doesn’t like it.

“You’re usually more fun~” Jongdae says.

He only whines in response, shaking his head some more. He feels like crying out of the frustration he feels for not knowing what’s wrong with him all of a sudden. 

_Why am I like this?_

Usually, he would be up on his feet by now, clinging to Jongdae as they walked back home whilst causing a commotion with their voices. They were even arrested once, but the memory of the night he spent in a holding cell with Jongdae and a few other guys is a blur.

He lifts his head back up, resting his chin on his arm to look at Jongdae. He finds his friend glancing at him, clearly not happy with his company at the moment.

Jongdae still looks tired, his eyes are red and he looks inches away from falling asleep each time he blinks his eyes. 

“You’re no fun either.” Chanyeol says, and he tries to lift his head up while keeping his eyes on Jongdae.

“Have you ever noticed the mole on the upper right side on top of Baekhyun’s lips?” Jongdae asks.

The amount of detail Jongdae put into that sentence frightens him. More because Chanyeol knew the exact mole he’s talking about, as he’s used to Jongdae being scary with details.

Chanyeol looks up, his mind showing him a flash of Baekhyun’s smile. “Ah!” He says. “It’s so small! His lips are small too~” 

Jongdae hums. “And what else have you noticed about him?” He asks.

Chanyeol doesn’t know why Jongdae is asking him these things, or why his mind is churning answers faster than his lips could mutter them, but he responds to his friend’s question anyway.

“When he smiles, his upper lip disappears.” Chanyeol lets out a chuckle. “But his teeth are nice so that’s fine.” He adds.

“He bites his thumb nail a lot.” Chanyeol says, nodding to himself. “There’s another mole there but this one is really big!” He opens his arms out in front of him, exaggerating the size. “And his fingers are so long and slim!! They felt so small when he held my hand…” 

He puts his arms back down and crosses in front of his chest. “His neck is so small. Baekhyun is so _small!”_ He says. “But when he takes his clothes off, he’s not small. You’re small, Jongdae.” 

“He took his clothes off for you?” Jongdae asks, snickering.

“No no no,” Chanyeol says with a shake of his head. “Only his jacket!” 

Jongdae nods a few times, as if urging him to continue. 

“His jawline is sharper than your cheekbones too.” Chanyeol says. “I still love you, though.” 

Jongdae cuts him off here. “Okay if you’re going to start comparing me with him, stop talking.” He says. “My cheekbones are clearly superior!” Jongdae shouts. 

Chanyeol shushes him. “You’re attracting attention!” He says. “No one can know.” 

“Know what? That you clearly have a crush on Byun Baekhyun?” Jongdae asks, smirking.

_I have a_ what?

He suddenly feels a bit more aware as his eyes slowly start widening. It hits him that he was about to start describing Baekhyun in great detail to Jongdae without even realising he knew all those things.

And why is Jongdae assuming he has a crush on the idol?

“Oh my god, you really don’t know!” Jongdae exclaims, putting his drink down. “My dear Yeollie, are you aware of your feelings for Baekhyun or not?” 

Chanyeol’s brows furrow and he pouts. “Feelings? You mean whether I like him or not?” He asks. 

“What do you feel when you’re hanging out with Baekhyun?” Jongdae asks. 

Should he really answer that? He’s never even thought about it in the first place. 

In fact, he never questioned how he became so comfortable around Baekhyun so quickly. 

Or how he let his guard down completely when he was sheltering Baekhyun from his fans in his apartment that time. He didn’t realise it then, but thinking about it now, he just felt relaxed enough to let Baekhyun roam around his place while he sat on his computer and went on about his day, not worried about what Baekhyun would do while he had his back turned on him.

He opened up to him about his situation with his parents so easily over the phone when Baekhyun was in China. It’s a somewhat sensitive topic for him, after all. He even sacrificed about an hour of sleep for him that night. 

Chanyeol never stopped to think how he had managed to feel enough at ease to lay in bed next to Baekhyun when he was sick. He thought it was just because he was tired at the time, and didn’t have the energy to force Baekhyun off his bed. He didn’t even like sleeping next to Jongdae, and they’ve showered together on more than one occasion. 

Whenever Baekhyun is around, Chanyeol finds himself abandoning everything he’s doing to spend what little free time the idol has these days with him. He always finds Baekhyun’s laughter infectious whenever he tells a joke and laughs at his own sense of humour. 

He’s happier when he’s around Baekhyun. It left him always anticipating when he would see Baekhyun next. 

Thinking about it now, he even gave him a copy of his keys faster than he had given them to Jongdae.

_I have a crush on Baekhyun?_

All of that has him frozen in front of Jongdae, who starts giggling uncontrollably, probably at the look on Chanyeol’s face. 

And Chanyeol is left with nothing to do other than watch his friend, waiting for him to stop laughing to ask for some kind of explanation. 

Chanyeol’s never had a crush on anyone before. And Jongdae clearly knows more about whatever he was feeling towards Baekhyun than he did himself, so he needed answers out of him. 

“YOU KNOW WHAT WE SHOULD DO?” Jongdae suddenly shouts, receiving glances from the people seated next to them. “Okay we need to leave first!” He announces. 

He nods at Jongdae’s suggestion, nearly stumbling as he pushes his chair back to get off his seat. Jongdae does so with much less grace, as he lands back on his seat and starts giggling again. 

Chanyeol sways as he makes his way around the table to help Jongdae up. He drags him to the register at the front of the shop, where one of the owners greets them a smile and the bill.

They split it in half, and Jongdae ends up helping Chanyeol count his money and put his wallet back in his pocket for him. They thank the owner and leave the restaurant. 

It’s about a 10 minute walk from where they live, so there is no dread in Chanyeol regarding whether they’ll make it back home in one piece given the state they’re both in. 

As soon as they’re out, Chanyeol starts whining about the cold and starts clinging closer to Jongdae in search of warmth. 

Jongdae doesn’t push him away, hooking their arms together and pulling him closer as well.

“Chanyeol-ah!” Jongdae shouts as they walk down a hill. “Do you like Baekhyun’s music?” He asks.

Chanyeol doesn’t know what comes over him all of a sudden when he responds. “I LOVE BYUN BAEKHYUN’S MUSIC!” He says.

“HAVE YOU WATCHED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS APPEARANCES ON TV YET?” Jongdae asks.

“Not yet!” Chanyeol say. “BUT I WILL!”

“And why do you suddenly want to pay more attention to Byun Baekhyun and his career?” Jongdae asks.

“BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!” Chanyeol says.

“LOVE? NO, YOU _LIKE_ HIM!” Jongdae says. “Wait a second… You love him?” He asks.

Chanyeol stops walking, causing Jongdae to stop as well.

“I don’t know, Jongdae! I thought you knew!” He says. 

Jongdae hums. “I don’t fully understand either…” He says. “We should ask Baekhyun if you love him or not!” 

“Great idea! Baekhyun knows everything!” Chanyeol says, taking his phone out of his pocket and he tries to unlock it.

His fingers are too cold to function properly. So after several failed attempts, Jongdae takes his phone from him and types the passcode for him, succeeding in his first try. He takes it upon himself to start a call with Baekhyun, then hands the phone back to Chanyeol.

It starts ringing, and a few seconds pass before he can hear Baekhyun’s voice on the other end.

_“Chanyeol?”_ Baekhyun says.

He turns to Jongdae, pointing at his phone. 

“Ask him!” Jongdae says.

_“Ask me what?”_ Baekhyun questions. 

Chanyeol thinks a little, trying to choose his words carefully. “Do I love you?” He simply asks.

_“Uh…”_ Baekhyun says. _“I don’t know, do you?”_ He sounds genuinely confused.

Chanyeol looks back at Jongdae, who quietly gestures for him to continue.

“I don’t know either, Jongdae told me to ask you…” Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun sighs. _“You’re the only one who would know, Chanyeol.”_ He says. _“Now, is that all? Because my break is almost over and I have to get back to practice—”_

“I LOVE YOU BAEKHYUN!” Chanyeol shouts into the phone. “I LOVE YOUR MUSIC TOO!” 

“HE LIKES YOU TOO, BAEKHYUN!” Jongdae adds. 

Chanyeol hangs up on Baekhyun and turns to Jongdae, flashing him with a grin before they both start laughing hysterically. 

“See, I told you Baekhyun would know!” Jongdae says, trying to catch his breath before laughing again.

Chanyeol can’t even stand up straight anymore, head spinning from all the laughter. He crouches in the middle of the sidewalk and holds onto his sides as he continues laughing.

He can faintly hear his phone ringing in his pocket, but he ignores it. 

Jongdae helps him back up and they both continue walking down the hill, not even fully aware of their destination for the night.

——————

Chanyeol wakes up to someone’s voice from a distance, immediately bringing his hand up to shield his eyes from the sunlight washing over his face as soon as he becomes aware of it.

His entire body is aching and his throat felt rather scratchy. He vaguely remembers a lot of shouting, he just doesn’t remember whether it was at Jongdae or someone else, or whether it was out of drunken happiness or anger.

He groans at the feeling in his head and the rest of his body. Is he lying on the ground?

_Where the hell am I?_

Slowly lifting his arm away from his face, he carefully opens his eyes to scan the room he’s in. 

It’s Jongdae’s living room, and he fell asleep on the rug. He finds himself surrounded by a pile of thin blankets and a few pillows from the couch. He must have thrown them off his body while he was asleep.

He’s still wearing the clothes he was in yesterday when Jongdae told him he wanted to go have dinner. The rest of the night is a bit fuzzy at the moment, and he couldn’t remember a thing beyond leaving the restaurant. 

Chanyeol flipped to lay on his stomach instead, bringing his arms up and folding them to rest his head on top. 

_“Yeah, I’ll tell him.”_ He heard Jongdae say. He finds himself curious about what his friend was talking about on the phone. 

It doesn’t sound like a pleasant conversation, and Chanyeol starts sitting up, gaze falling on Jongdae’s bedroom door, as if waiting for him to come out and elaborate. 

_“Don’t worry about it, noona. I’ll see you soon.”_ He hears. _“Bye.”_

The walls in Jongdae’s apartment are thin enough for Chanyeol to hear his sigh and the soft creaking sound his bed made when he sat down on it. 

Knowing his friend won’t be coming out anytime soon, Chanyeol stands up with little difficulty, and takes a few steps to reach Jongdae’s door, swinging it open without permission.

Jongdae lifts his head quickly to stare at him with wide eyes. They slowly soften, and Chanyeol recognises the rare downcast expression on his friend’s face. 

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything and does as he’s told when Jongdae motions for him to sit down next to him. 

The lump building in his throat was painful to swallow and he felt his heart racing all of a sudden.

Something is not right. 

Jongdae senses Chanyeol’s distress, and takes a deep breath.

“There’s something you should know.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small reminder that there's a light angst tag (❛ᴗ❛) 
> 
> Also vote for exo everywhere ;◡;


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is later than usual, but it's still a Wednesday!! ;◡;
> 
> I HOPE THE CONTENT IS WORTH THE WAIT ♡

A sigh escapes his lips as he puts his laptop to sleep and closes it.

Baekhyun has been at the café all morning, and it was quite risky of him to be there in the first place. Yet, there’s no sign of the person he was hoping he would run into. 

The idol has been rather busy lately, and the only thing that brought him to the café is seeing Chanyeol’s face. Baekhyun hasn’t seen him in a while, and the former hasn’t been answering his messages either, which led Baekhyun to think that visiting him in his apartment isn’t the best idea given what happened last time.

So he decided to go to the café and keep his fingers crossed, hoping Chanyeol would be back at work by now, and just forgot to answer his messages.

He knew Chanyeol works Friday mornings, yet he isn’t here. The only solution that Baekhyun could come up with when he walked in three hours earlier and saw that the tall, clumsy waiter wasn’t there when he should have been, was that his suspicions were right, and that he and Jongdae were having another one of their gaming marathons for all he knows.

It’s been a little over a week since that weird phone call he received from Chanyeol and Jongdae, and he has yet to ask either of them about it. Their group chat has been rather quiet too. 

They did mention they had deadlines at university, — sometimes Baekhyun forgets those two are students because they’re always at home and he’s never actually seen them study or anything — so Baekhyun assumed that could be another reason why they haven’t been talking to him lately.

Not that he’s had any free time either, with all the preparation he’s been doing for his new album. 

Baekhyun sips the remains of his coffee that has long since gone cold, grimacing at the taste, before shoving his laptop into his backpack and getting off his chair. 

He slings his bag over his shoulders and makes sure to take the bill from his table before making his way to the front of the shop where Kyungsoo is standing with an expression that screams boredom on his face.

As soon as Baekhyun is in front of him though, he puts on a smile.

“Did you manage to finish your work?” Kyungsoo asks as Baekhyun hands him the receipt. 

“Yeah.” Baekhyun says, sighing again. He takes his wallet out of his pocket and pulls out a few thousand notes, silently handing them over to the manager. “There wasn’t much to do, anyway, but at least I feel better about the song now.” 

“That’s good.” Kyungsoo says, accepting the bill with both his hands, then starts to take out some change from the register for him. “I can’t wait to hear it. Is there a confirmed release date yet?” He asks.

“Sometime within the next few months!” Baekhyun says, flashing him with a smile. “Hey Kyungsoo, can I ask you something?” 

The manager hands him the change and Baekhyun puts it in his wallet. “Of course.” Kyungsoo says. “Is something wrong?” 

Baekhyun shakes his head. “I was just wondering where Chanyeol is. Doesn’t he usually work at this time?” 

Kyungsoo doesn’t answer him immediately, and Baekhyun can’t read the look on his face as he drops his smile, but keeps his expression neutral, thick eyebrows raised and full lips a straight line.

But before the idol could even think anything of it, Kyungsoo is quick to reply.

“He does.” Kyungsoo gives a nod. “I’ve given him some time off, though.” He simply says.

_He’s probably pretending to be sick again, then._

Baekhyun shrugs, putting his wallet back into his pocket and pulling his hood up over his hat to make sure it covered his recently dyed hair well before leaving. 

“Alright, thanks!” Baekhyun says. “I have to get going now, I’ll talk to you later!” He continues before giving Kyungsoo a wave of his hand.

Kyungsoo simply bows his head slightly. “Bye.” He says.

The idol pushes the glass door and walks out of the café.

He doesn’t bother telling Junmyeon to come pick him up, because he has a different destination that is a mere 15-minute walk from his current location that Junmyeon might question him about, and he isn’t really in the mood for that. 

Baekhyun needs answers. 

All he could take out of that phone call, besides Chanyeol’s unusual perkiness and energy, is Jongdae’s words. 

_What does he mean, he likes me too?_

He has an idea about it, but he doesn’t want to get his hopes too high.

The first thing he thought of after Chanyeol shouted what he had, was that he was probably drunk or something, so he brushed it off the minute he heard it. 

But then Jongdae had to add those words that kept replaying over and over in his head for the past week, and it drove him into losing his concentration and ending dance practice earlier than intended that night.

Not to mention, he’s been distracted enough by it lately that Junmyeon has been giving him questioning glances every once in a while, which only made Baekhyun dread the fact that his manager hasn’t said anything yet, and it’s already been way over a week. 

He sighs as he takes his phone out of his pocket, and puts his earphones on to play some music. He also lowers his head as he walks to avoid getting recognised, which isn’t very likely in this street, but he has to take precautions. 

Baekhyun definitely doesn’t want any of his fans or anyone else finding out where Chanyeol lives, and where _he_ has been spending the majority of his free time for the past two months — maybe it’s been a little longer than that, he doesn’t remember.

What he can’t forget is that Chanyeol has consumed his thoughts for so long, to the point that he doesn’t even recall what ran through his mind all the time before he first laid eyes on Chanyeol.

Before he realises, he’s walking down the road that led to Chanyeol’s place, and he can already see the familiar driveway as well as the convenient store ahead of him.

He finds his steps quickening a bit, until he slows down to take his keys out in preparation.

As he walks down the driveway, he turns around and makes sure no one’s around before he takes off his face mask and lowers the hood of his jacket. 

When he stands in front of the gate, he brings the hand holding the key up, momentarily amused by the jingle of his keychains, and unlocks the gate. He closes it behind him before he makes his way up the steps, and unlocks Chanyeol’s door.

“Chanyeol?” He hears from the inside as he closes the door and takes his shoes off.

_Jongdae’s here?_

“Nope, it’s me~” Baekhyun says, making his way inside. “Chanyeol’s not here?” He asks.

There’s no one in the living room, and Jongdae doesn’t respond to him either. 

Baekhyun’s eyes widen. Did he imagine Jongdae calling him or is there some kind of paranormality going on in Chanyeol’s place?

He takes careful steps towards the door to Chanyeol’s bedroom, peeking his head inside. 

Then he lets out the breath he was holding when he sees Jongdae in there, sitting on Chanyeol’s bed with a duffle bag next to him overflowing with clothes. He raises a brow at that, but doesn’t question it yet.

“You scared me, Jongdae, why didn’t you answer me?” Baekhyun asks as he walks in and leans against the doorframe.

Jongdae chuckles, but it’s dry. It makes Baekhyun frown when he doesn’t say anything else.

“Is everything okay?” He asks. “Last time you guys didn’t talk to me for this long, your bodies were decaying in this apartment.” Baekhyun says. 

Jongdae sighs. “Sorry, things got a bit too hectic. I meant to talk to you but I couldn’t find the right time.” He says.

Baekhyun hums. “It’s fine.” He says, then he points at the bag, deciding it’s time for him to address it. “Why are you packing Chanyeol’s stuff? Is he moving out or something?” He asks. 

“No.” Jongdae says, shaking his head. “He’s just visiting home for a while and asked if I could bring him some extra clothes.” He continues, turning to look at the duffle bag.

Baekhyun nods. He silently watches as Jongdae absentmindedly takes one of the sweaters on Chanyeol’s bed and attempts to fold it, then places it in the bag.

This is so unlike Jongdae. He usually never runs out of things to say, which renders Baekhyun speechless for once. 

Clearly, there’s something going on. With Chanyeol, most likely, and Jongdae not straight out telling him about it makes him anxious as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. 

_I really wanna ask, but…_

Would it be insensitive of him to ask? Is he even close enough to the two to ask in the first place? 

Baekhyun likes to think he is. He’s been friends with the two for over two months, and he’s seen plenty of sides to them, as they have with him. He’s comfortable enough around them to share his worries and such, but are _they?_

Chanyeol, maybe. But is Jongdae comfortable enough with him?

The atmosphere starts to get slightly uncomfortable for Baekhyun, as he watches Jongdae continue to roll up the rest of the clothes before shoving them messily in the bag. He sighs.

“Jongdae.” Baekhyun says, and immediately, the other raises his head to look at the idol.

“Yeah?” Jongdae asks.

“Is everything okay?” 

A few seconds pass as they stare at each other, and Baekhyun doesn’t get an answer.

“Jongdae?” Baekhyun tries again. “You don’t have to tell me if yo—”

Sighing again, Jongdae finally breaks eye contact and closes his eyes, running one of his hands through his hair. 

“Chanyeol’s father isn’t doing too well, and Chanyeol is taking it _really_ hard.” Jongdae says. “I mean, of course he is, it’s his father, but he’s being weird about it…” 

Baekhyun’s eyes widen slightly. “Is his dad gonna be okay?” He asks first. 

Jongdae shrugs. “Not sure.” 

The idol sighs. “What about Chanyeol?”

“Locked up in his room, barely getting any sleep, and refuses to talk to anyone but at least his mom is there to make sure he eats.” Jongdae says. “He needs some kinda distraction, but I can’t even bring him to game with me and Yixing.” 

When Baekhyun was in China a few weeks back, Chanyeol told him that he had some kind of argument with his parents, but he didn’t seem too bothered by it when he spoke of it. He also said how he already made up with his parents, but Baekhyun didn’t believe that for a second. 

_That’s probably why he’s feeling like shit._

“Really?” Baekhyun asks, frowning. “How much would Chanyeol hate hearing my voice right now?” 

“Probably not as much as he hates hearing _my_ voice.” Jongdae says. “What did you have in mind? You gonna serenade him?” 

“I mean, if that’s what it would take to get him to game again to get his mind off things at least, I would.” Baekhyun says.

Jongdae gives a soft smile. “You’re worried about him, and you just want to hear his voice.” He says. “Am I right?” 

“Of course.” The idol says. “I don’t like that he’s like this at the moment, so I’ll do what I can to help him.” 

“Alright. I’m staying at his parent’s place too, so I’ll make sure he answers your phone call.” Jongdae says. “Not that I’ll need to, anyway. I think he’s been waiting for your call after remembering what happened last week~” 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Are you talking about the weird call that night?” He asks. 

Jongdae chuckles, nodding his head. “The one and only!” He says. “Sorry about that, by the way, we were _sincerely_ wasted. Very _sincere,_ but also wasted.” 

_So it’s true._

Baekhyun really wants to ask, but keeps quiet as his eyes follow Jongdae, who picks up the duffle bag after closing it and exits the room. 

“I’ll see you later, Baekhyun!” Jongdae says as he makes his way to the entrance. “I’ll be waiting for your call with Chanyeol~!” 

The idol follows him and stands by the door as he watches Jongdae put his shoes on. “Don’t you dare listen in!!” He says.

“Did you really think Chanyeol doesn’t show me your private conversations or hasn’t told me about your occasional late night phone calls?” He says, snickering. “That’s cute, but I know everything.” 

“Define everything.” Baekhyun says.

“ _Everything,_ Baekhyun.” 

Baekhyun’s eyes widen and he feels his cheeks heat up. Before he could come up with a response, Jongdae is already out of the door. 

That means… Jongdae knows _everything_ everything.  
  
“Don’t forget to lock Chanyeol’s door!”

_Shit!_

——————

Baekhyun has been back at the apartment he shares with his manager for about an hour now.

As soon as he got there, he went straight into his room all the while trying to ignore the mess Junmyeon made in the living room, and threw his body on his bed.

He’s had his face buried in his pillow for a while now, and it’s starting to get difficult to breathe. So he turns his head to the side and stares at his phone.

Junmyeon hasn’t barged in on him yet to question him about his previous whereabouts, so it’s safe to assume he’s alone. And yet, Baekhyun’s made no move to call Chanyeol.

During his ride back home, — he took a taxi because he didn’t want to bother his manager — he mostly thought of the likeliness of Chanyeol answering his call.

Baekhyun doesn’t understand. He’s _always_ the one to call first, so it doesn’t make sense why he’s hesitating so much right now. He could just pretend Jongdae hasn’t told him anything and act casual, but apparently they tell each other _everything_. 

He sighed, picking his phone up and unlocking it. He opens his chat with Chanyeol, letting his thumb hover over the call button as he read the chat. Chanyeol hasn’t even been reading his messages in the first place, so would he really answer?

Chanyeol also likes to keep his phone on silent to intentionally ignore any and all attempts at dragging his attention away from things that are more important to him than socialising. So there’s a very low chance of him actually answering.

The idol closes the chat and puts his phone back down. Just knowing Chanyeol isn’t doing okay right now is enough to ruin his day. He hasn’t been doing well for over a week now while Baekhyun was too busy to ask about him, and it makes him feel like shit. Still, it isn’t his fault Chanyeol — and Jongdae for that matter, kind of shut him out, right?

_Call… Or not call?_

Baekhyun shakes his head and ruffles his hair, turning it into a bird’s nest.

_I’m calling._

He needs to hear how Chanyeol is doing for himself. With his own ears listening to words coming out of Chanyeol’s mouth, not Jongdae’s. Not that he doesn’t believe Jongdae, because he did seem genuinely bummed out earlier, as if it wasn’t just Chanyeol’s current state that was upsetting him.

Picking his phone back up and unlocking it again, he quickly navigates through his apps to open his chat with Chanyeol back up. And he quickly taps the call icon.

Baekhyun brings his phone closer to his ears and listens to the ringing

_Please answer…_

He holds his breath as he waits. He’s never wanted to hear Chanyeol’s voice so much before.

More time passes, and the ringing against his ear continues. 

Baekhyun pulls the phone away from his ears to see that a minute has already passed, and realises Chanyeol won’t be answering his phone anytime soon. He sighs, ending the attempted call, and throwing his phone back on his bed.

He takes a deep breath to make up for the lack of it, and just as he is about to let it out, his bedroom’s door bursts open. He looks up to see Junmyeon standing in front of his bed with his arms crossed.

“Welcome back, hyung~” Baekhyun says as he lays his head back down.

“Thank you.” Junmyeon says. Baekhyun feels his bed dip next to him, and he twists his body to face his manager. 

“Did you enjoy your lunch date?” Baekhyun asks, propping his head up on the palm of his hand.

Junmyeon leans back with his arms behind him, keeping him in place. He hums in response. “It was alright.” He says.

“That’s nice.” Baekhyun responds. 

“How’d _yours_ go?” 

Baekhyun sighs for what feels like the millionth time this day. “On top of not seeing him, I found out that he hasn’t been doing well lately.” He says, shaking his head. 

Junmyeon’s eyes widen and Baekhyun immediately elaborates so that he doesn’t get the wrong idea. “It’s a family related, hyung, he’s okay.” He says. “Physically, at least…” 

His manager visibly relaxes and turns to him. “And you’re worried about him.” Junmyeon says.

Baekhyun nods once, burying his face back into his pillow. 

“If this is going to distract you like last time, please give him a call now and see how he’s doing.” Junmyeon says.

“He’s not answering. Even Jongdae looked so upset—” 

“You went there during the day?” Junmyeon asks, sighing. “We talked about this, Baekhyun. There’s already all these rumours going around and we can’t afford a scandal right now.” 

“There won’t be a scandal, hyung. He’s a guy, I’m a guy, and the worst thing that can happen is Chanyeol’s privacy getting invaded by the fans.” Baekhyun says. “And I know he’d hate me if that were to happen, but I’ve come to a point where I can’t stay away from him for too long.” 

Baekhyun never thought saying these words out loud was going to be as easy as this. This is something he’s come to terms with a long time ago, when he first realised that what he assumed was his _crush_ on the clumsy waiter is something way more than that. 

Junmyeon doesn’t say anything, moving to get off his bed instead. 

He doesn’t leave the room, though.  
  
“Just be careful, please?” He says. “We’ll keep things on check from your end if anything happens but protecting Park Chanyeol’s privacy is all on you.”

“I know.” Baekhyun says.

“And call him. You have a busy week and you need to stay focused, alright?” Junmyeon says.

He hears his door close after that. 

“I will.” Baekhyun whispers to himself.

——————

The rest of his day was spent idly browsing YouTube for videos to watch on his bed. 

And before he knew it, he was yawning and his eyes were begging him to let them rest. 

Baekhyun pauses and minimises the video playing on his laptop, and he looks at the digital clock on the upper right corner of his screen to see that it’s already a little past midnight.

He yawns again, rubbing both his eyes. 

_It’s definitely time for me to sleep._

Shutting his laptop down, he closes it and places it on his bedside table. He snuggles back into his duvet and grabs his phone, unlocking it and allowing it to illuminate his room. 

Baekhyun squints and lowers the brightness, checking the notification bar along the way.

When he sees the words ‘missed call’ next to Chanyeol’s name from about half an hour ago, his heart beat picks up.

He was too busy spacing out as a video played before his eyes to notice his phone vibrating. And he might have missed his only chance at talking to Chanyeol.

_Great…_

Baekhyun sighs. He taps on the notification and tries calling him back.

The phone starts ringing as Baekhyun brings it up to his ears, and he isn’t as nervous as he was earlier today when he had tried calling the first time. He’s a little surprised at himself, but patiently anticipates Chanyeol’s voice coming through from the other end of the line.

And when it does, his heart starts racing again.

_“Baekhyun?”_

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says. “Hi.” 

_“Hey.”_ Chanyeol’s deep voice is raspy. He sounds more tired than Jongdae described him to be. 

And he doesn’t say anything else. Though Baekhyun knows the answer to his own question, he still asks reluctantly. 

“How are you?” 

Chanyeol is silent for a few seconds, and Baekhyun can’t help but think how it might have been insensitive of him to ask that since he already knows what happened and why Chanyeol is definitely anything but okay right now. 

He sinks his teeth in his lower lip, listening into Chanyeol’s soft intakes of breath on the other end.

_“I’m fine.”_ Chanyeol finally says. _“What about you? I know you’ve been busy lately. Are you resting well?”_

To still ask about him like that even though he has issues of his own to deal with makes Baekhyun feel a bit taken aback. 

He lets out a light snort. “How could you worry about me at a time like this?” Baekhyun asks. “I heard about what happened from Jongdae.” 

A few moments pass in silence, until Chanyeol’s voice rings through his ear again.

_“I’m a terrible son, Baekhyun.”_ He says. _“I don’t know what I’m going do if something happens to him and I haven’t even properly apologised to him yet.”_

“Don’t think like that, idiot.” Baekhyun says. “I don’t know what went down between the two of you exactly but I’m sure whatever it is, he’s already forgiven you.” 

_“You don’t even know him to say that.”_ Chanyeol says, sighing. _“But I guess… Yeah, he’s that type of person.”_

Baekhyun hums, turning to lie on his back. “See?” He says. “Give me a second.” 

_“Okay.”_

He reaches out to his bedside table to grab his earphones, rolling his eyes when he finds that they’re a little tangled. 

Their phone calls usually lasted somewhere between an hour and three hours. And not a single minute is spent in silence. 

They already covered a lot of things from embarrassing stories to useless facts about one another. They haven’t had a conversation like this, though. 

Chanyeol’s never like this, and neither is Baekhyun. They rarely got serious while talking and they like to keep their phone calls playful and mischievous. But it doesn’t feel right to do that at the moment, not with Chanyeol like this. 

After he’s done untangling them, he puts them on and connects them to his phone. His arm won’t go numb holding his phone up this way.

“Hey, sorry about that.” Baekhyun says. “What are you doing right now?” He asks.

_“I’m taking a walk.”_ Chanyeol says. _“It’s freezing and I forgot to put on a proper jacket.”_

Baekhyun chuckles, thankful for the warmth of his bed as he brings his duvet up higher to cover his chin and mouth. “Go back home before you catch another cold.” He says.

_“Don’t feel like it. Jongdae’s in my room and he’s been bothering me all day.”_ Chanyeol says. _“I’m at a park now, gonna hide out here for a while.”_

“At least keep walking to stay warm.” Baekhyun says.

_“It’s fine, Baekhyunnie.”_

Chanyeol doesn’t call him that very often. And when he does, Baekhyun is always caught off guard and before he knows it, his heart is racing again.

He hears Chanyeol sigh from the other end of the line. He’s obviously in distress and he doesn’t know how to distract him from it, even if it’s just for a little while.

They both stay quiet for a few seconds while Baekhyun tries to think of something to say. And it’s hard because he doesn’t know what topics are safe for discussion at the moment and which aren’t. 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says. “Jongdae told me you haven’t logged in to play for a while. Why is that?” 

_“Are you kidding me? If I play at this state I’ll die and so will all my years of hard work.”_ Chanyeol says. _“I’d rather not risk it.”_

Baekhyun sighs. Of course it’d be because of something like that. 

“Excuse me for asking!” Baekhyun says. “Well, you can always play a different kind of game with _me_.” He continues.

_“Please don’t tell me it’s another one of your question games.”_ Chanyeol says. 

“I wasn’t thinking about that at all but if you insist~!” Baekhyun says. 

_“Fine. I have a good question, then.”_ Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun raises a brow. “How rare…” He says.

_“What’s the most immature thing you’ve done?”_ He asks. 

The idol frowns at that. If Chanyeol is going to ask these types of questions, then this game is pointless. He’s supposed to be distracting him from his predicament, not encouraging him to talk about things that will only remind him of it. 

He chooses to answer, anyway. 

“Just… Things we all once did as teenagers.” Baekhyun says. “If I have to pick something in particular, it would be the time I drew on my brother’s face with a permanent marker the night before he had to give an important presentation.” 

Chanyeol chuckles. It’s a light one, but at least it’s genuine. And Baekhyun smiles at that. 

“See? I found it funny too, but neither he nor my parents were pleased about it…” Baekhyun says. “What about you?”

_“I’ve done a lot of immature things.”_ Chanyeol says. _“I still do from time to time. I can’t even tell which stands out the most.”_

_Man,_ s _o much mystery and angst._

“Why did you ask a question you can’t even answer properly?” Baekhyun teases to lighten the mood. “Should I ask all the questions again?” 

_“Be my guest.”_ Chanyeol says. 

“Okay. Did you have any pets growing up?” Baekhyun asks.

_“Yes, a puppy.”_ Chanyeol says. _“But I grew allergic to dogs and we had to give her away.”_

“A dog-less life is a sad life indeed.” Baekhyun says. “We had the cutest of all dogs but he died when I was around 12.”

Chanyeol sighs. _“I can somewhat relate…”_ He says. _“This is making me tear up. Please move on to the next question or you’ll end up having to get me to stop crying for the rest of the night.”_

“Yeah, I understand. Just thinking about this is devastating…” Baekhyun says. “So! Do you have any scars on your body?”

The other hums in thought and Baekhyun fiddles with his earphone’s wires as he waits.

_“I have one scar on my right foot’s middle toe.”_ Chanyeol finally says. _“I got it when I was around four years old when I threw a tantrum and stuck my foot down the toilet for some reason.”_

“But why the _toilet,_ Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asks, snickering. 

_“I don’t know? I didn’t know any better.”_ Chanyeol says. _“What about you? Do you have any?”_

“I don’t know if this counts as a scar but,” Baekhyun starts. “My right earlobe is a little torn from when my brother and I were playing and he pushed me.” He continues, bringing his hand up to touch the scarred skin. 

“I fell against one of those old radiator heaters, and fortunately he was quick to pull me away or else I’d have ended up with a permanent scar on my cheek and neck.” He adds. 

_“Ouch.”_ Chanyeol says. _“What kinda brutal game were you playing near a heater?”_

“We were wrestling, of course!” Baekhyun says. 

Chanyeol chuckles. _“Growing up with a brother sounds fun.”_ He says. _“My sister used to give me makeovers all the time…”_

“Are you serious?” Baekhyun asks. “Please tell me there are pictures!” He says.

_“There are. And since you’re just gonna do the same thing you did when I told you about that video, yes, you can get the pictures from Jongdae.”_ Chanyeol says, sighing.

“Thank you for your consent!” Baekhyun says. “Alright, next question. Do you have a skill too embarrassing to tell anyone about?” 

Chanyeol hums. _“I’m really good at buying concert tickets even though I’ve never been to one.”_ He says. _“Yixing hyung relies on me for his ticketing, and he’s already given me his credit card details last year. Whenever there’s a concert he wants to go to, he just reminds me of the date and time the tickets will go on sale and I take care of the rest.”_

“Whoa, are you aware of how much money you can make off this?” Baekhyun asks. 

_“I am,”_ Chanyeol says. _“But I’ve got better things to do than go through the hell that is buying concert tickets again and again just to resell them.”_

“I see.” Baekhyun says, nodding to himself.

_“What about you?”_ Chanyeol asks. 

“Ah…” Baekhyun begins. “When I was younger, I could easily force myself to cry to get what I want.” He says.

_“That definitely sounds like something you would do.”_ Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun laughs. “Of course!” He says. “Oh, what’s the weirdest nickname you’ve been given?”

_“Nickname…”_ Chanyeol says. _“A couple of years ago, Jongdae kept calling me Yeoleo.”_

“What?” Baekhyun asks. “Yolo?” 

Chanyeol clears his throat. _“Yeah, that’s what I thought he was saying until he texted me, spelling it ‘Y E O L E O’ in English.”_ He says. _“I almost ended our friendship that day.”_

Baekhyun bursts out laughing, but quickly brings his hand up to cover his mouth since Junmyeon might be asleep and the walls are thin.

“Wow.” He says after he’s calmed down. “Remind me to kick Jongdae the next time I see him.” 

_“Will do.”_ Chanyeol says. _“What about your weirdest nickname?”_ He asks.

“Nothing beats air-dried ass.” Baekhyun says, smirking. 

“You’re welcome!” Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun chuckles. “Alright, three interesting facts about yourself!” 

_“Don’t know if they’ll be interesting, but I’ll do my best.”_ Chanyeol says. _“I’m terrified of shellfish.”_

“Shellfish?” Baekhyun asks. “As in shri—”

_“Don’t say its name!!”_ Chanyeol cuts him off. _“I hate it. I hate the other ones too. They’re like the insects of the sea!”_

Baekhyun has to hold back his laughter at that statement, but only because he has an understanding of irrational fears. 

“I’m sorry but care to tell me how all this started?” The idol asks.

_“When my mother asked me to help her prepare lunch that one time.”_ Chanyeol says. _“They just looked so…”_ He trails off. _“Can we not talk about this, please? It’s making me very uncomfortable.”_

“Okay, okay.” Baekhyun says. “I understand. Tell me another fact, then.” 

_“Hmm, I think the most interesting one would be my height. 185cm.”_ Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun clicks his tongue. “No need to rub it in my face, I know I look like a midget standing next to you…” He says. “Last one?” 

Chanyeol laughs and Baekhyun finds himself grinning at that, glad that Chanyeol’s mood seems to have improved a little.

_“I can’t tolerate spicy food.”_ Chanyeol says. _“I’d end up with a stomachache and a restless night if I had too much.”_

“That’s your second food fact.” Baekhyun says. 

_“Nope, pretty sure the first one is some kinda phobia.”_ Chanyeol says. _“Your turn, three facts~”_

“Whatever you say!” Baekhyun says, turning back to lie on his side. “Let’s see… I have a birthmark that looks like a dick on the back of my thigh.” 

_“Are you serious?”_ Chanyeol asks, snorting. _“Can I see it?”_

“I’ll show it to you someday~!” Baekhyun says. “Okay, I go to the gym regularly, but I’ve only been on the treadmill once due to an unfortunate incident in which I fell and got so embarrassed, I had to switch gyms.” 

_“You’ve been making fun of me for being clumsy all this time while keeping that a secret?”_ Chanyeol asks. _“What else, Baekhyun?”_

Baekhyun senses a smile in his voice, so he ends up smiling in return. 

“I can spend over 10 continuous hours playing The Sims.” Baekhyun says. 

_“Are you serious?”_ Chanyeol asks. _“What is this I’m hearing today? You game for that long and practically sit over my shoulder and demanding I log out and give you attention when_ I’m _gaming?”_

“The difference between you and I, Chanyeol, is that I have self control!” Baekhyun says, chuckling.

_“What else have you been hiding from me, Byun Baekhyun~?”_ Chanyeol asks.

_That I may be in love with you._

Baekhyun’s smile falls off his face. Is he in _love_ with Chanyeol? This was only a crush not long ago. How did it come to this? Is it because of that phone call with Chanyeol when he drunkenly announced to the world that he loves Baekhyun and his music?

The idol lies on his back and stares up at the ceiling, unable to think of anything else to say to Chanyeol at the moment. 

_“Baekhyun?”_ Chanyeol asks. _“Did you fall asleep on me?”_

He takes a deep breath. “Still here.” He says.

_“I’m gonna start heading back home. It’s getting too cold.”_ Chanyeol says.

“Hey, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun says.

_“What is it?”_ The other asks. 

“What’s your favourite place to be kissed?” 

He doesn’t know what came over him and before he realises, the question is already out of his mouth. Baekhyun closes his eyes as he waits for Chanyeol to either hang up on him or give him an answer.

“Never been kissed to know.” Chanyeol says casually. He doesn’t seem to think anything of it, either, and it makes Baekhyun quietly sigh in relief. “You?” Chanyeol asks.

_Right… We’re still playing._

“I don’t care where, as long as it’s from the right person.” Baekhyun says.

Chanyeol snickers. _“That’s kinda sappy.”_ He says.

Since he’s already gone this far, he needs to ask. He needs to know if what drunk Chanyeol said is how sober Chanyeol really feels. 

_Does he like me?_

“Do you…” Baekhyun says hesitantly. “Is there someone you like right now?” 

Chanyeol doesn’t respond straight away. And it sounds like he stopped dead in his tracks on his way back home.

_“Why are you asking?”_ Chanyeol questions.

Baekhyun lets out a breath. “Just answer.” He says.

_“I think I do.”_ Chanyeol says. _“Do you?”_

“I think I do, too.” Baekhyun says.

Neither of them say anything. And Baekhyun can hear Chanyeol’s footsteps again, although they’re much slower than they were earlier.

“I’m going to sleep. Call me if you need anything, okay?” Baekhyun says.

_“Okay.”_ Chanyeol says quietly. _“Thank you for this, by the way. I really needed it.”_

“It’s nothing.” Baekhyun says. “Get home safely, Yeol.” 

_“Will do. Good night, Baekhyunnie.”_

——————

Junmyeon is going to kill him.

Baekhyun has never rushed out of his place so fast, completely ignoring his manager on his way out. He got into the taxi that was waiting for him and headed to Chanyeol’s neighbourhood.

Chanyeol’s never called him like this. He’s never told him that he _needed_ him before. And Baekhyun couldn’t do anything but assume the worst out of this situation.

So he just put his jacket on over his pyjamas and and called for a taxi service while putting his hat and mask on as quick as he could, and he left.

It’s a miracle he didn’t have a panic attack on his way here.

He’s now standing in front of Chanyeol’s door, fumbling with the keys to get the door open and cursing under his breath when he dropped them.

What if Chanyeol’s hurt? What if something happened to him? 

It’s been a few days since their phone call, and Chanyeol’s just returned home today from his parent’s house. Jongdae told him that Chanyeol’s father is doing better now and that everything is going to be fine. So it can’t be about that. 

He can hear his heart beating violently as he bends down to pick up the keys, snorting as he straightens himself back up and tries to stop his hand from shaking so much. 

With a little struggle, he manages to unlock the door, hurriedly taking his shoes off at the entrance and not even bothering to lock the door behind him as he ran into Chanyeol’s room.

He finds Chanyeol sitting at the edge of his bed, facing him. 

“Are you okay?!” Baekhyun asks from his place near the door frame, panting as his eyes frantically scan Chanyeol’s body for anything that could be wrong. 

When he finds nothing, he swallows the lump building back in his throat.  
  
“Chanyeol, what is it?” He demands. “Why did you tell me to come?”

“I didn’t tell you to come.” Chanyeol says, standing up and approaching him slowly. “I just said I needed you.” 

Baekhyun sighs. “You scared me to death, you asshole!” He says. “I rushed here like an idiot _yet again_ for you and you just—”

He stops talking when Chanyeol is standing right in front of him, towering over him and looking down at him.

“What?" Baekhyun whispers, the sudden proximity not doing anything to calm his racing heart. 

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything when he grabs Baekhyun’s chin and lifts it up, slowly leaning down and planting a light kiss on Baekhyun’s lips. He stares at Chanyeol’s closed eyes in a daze, not sure what’s going on at the moment. 

But when he opens his eyes and starts pulling away slowly, Baekhyun quickly wraps his arms around Chanyeol’s neck and pulls him back in.

If Chanyeol told him that this was why he needed him, he would have hurried there all the same. 

_I can’t believe this is happening._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What made Chanyeol do that??? (❛ᴗ❛)
> 
> Find out next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said 7th but we've been showered with so much content yesterday, especially model PCY, and I died 
> 
> HAVE SOME MORE FLUFFFFF
> 
> ENJOY ♡

_“Do you…” Baekhyun says. “Is there someone you like right now?”_

_Chanyeol stops walking so abruptly, he almost trips. He had a feeling Baekhyun would bring this up one way or another, but the words still came to him as a surprise._

_After all, even_ he _wouldn’t ignore it if Baekhyun called him drunk and shouted the words Chanyeol had a week ago._

_Before he knows it, his heartbeat is picking up. He moves to lean against a nearby lamppost, bringing his phone away from his ears as he takes deep breaths to try to slow the unsteady rhythm._

_When he deems it good enough to talk without sounding like he’s out of breath, he brings the phone back against his ear._

_“Why are you asking?” Chanyeol finally says._

_Baekhyun lets out a breath. “Just answer.” He says._

_“I think I do.” Chanyeol says. “Do you?”_

_And he’s more sure of it now than he ever was._

_“I think I do, too.” Baekhyun says._

——————

“Wake up.” 

Chanyeol watches as Jongdae stirs a little in his bed and turns to face the other side, bringing the duvet up to cover his face.

He snorts. 

“If you don’t wake up right now, I’ll delete your account and all your backups along with it.” Chanyeol says. 

“I’d love to see you try.” Jongdae mumbles, and makes no other move to indicate that he will get up anytime soon.

Chanyeol sighs. It was hard for him to properly — and safely walk back home after that phone call with Baekhyun, and he needed to consult Jongdae about it. 

Although Jongdae probably won’t be of much help, given that he has just as little experience as Chanyeol does when it comes to relationships. Yet again, he was the one to point out Chanyeol’s feelings for Baekhyun before Chanyeol even realised anything himself. 

And now that he’s finally convinced of his own feelings, he can’t calm down. His hands, which he was unable to move due to the cold not so long ago, are now also covered in sweat and won’t stop shaking as much as Chanyeol tries to will them to. 

He climbs on top of his bed and straddles Jongdae’s body, yanking the duvet away from his face. 

“WHAT THE HELL, YOU DUMB GIANT!” Jongdae shouts. “Get off me!!” He adds.

“I just got off the phone with Baekhyun.” Chanyeol says, ignoring Jongdae’s failed attempts at throwing him off the bed. 

Though as Chanyeol expected he would, Jongdae immediately stops thrashing his body and looks up at the other. 

“And? What happened?” He asks.

Chanyeol’s brows furrow, and he looks down at Jongdae in concern.

“I think I really do like him.” Chanyeol says. “What do I do?” 

Jongdae sits up. “Did you tell him you like him?” He asks. 

“Of course not.” Chanyeol shakes his head. “He kinda already knows from my phone call last week, doesn’t he?” He says. “He asked if I liked anyone and I only said I did, and when I asked _him_ if there was anyone he likes, he said there was.”

And that person can’t possibly be him.

_Why would it be?_

Chanyeol looks at Jongdae, waiting for a response, but all he’s met with is a glare. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jongdae says eventually. “Do I have to spell it out for you?” 

“What are you talking about?” Chanyeol asks. 

Jongdae sighs. “Chanyeol, why do you think Baekhyun is always texting you, hanging out with you every minute he can spare even though he probably has a packed schedule, and calls you almost every night before _you_ sleep at ungodly hours, even when he has work early in the morning?” 

“Still can’t assume he likes me until he says so.” Chanyeol says.

His friend opens his mouth to say something, but closes it and lets out a frustrated breath through his nose and continues to stare at him with a bored expression on his face this time.

Chanyeol knows what this face Jongdae’s making means. His friend is waiting for him to use his own head and come up with his own conclusion. 

The only way he would know anything is if he actually spoke with Baekhyun about it, which is very likely considering they apparently hang out behind Chanyeol’s back from time to time and talk more frequently than he and Chanyeol do.

Chanyeol takes a deep breath and lets it out. “Alright.” He says, nodding to himself. “When did he tell you?” He asks.

“Like a week after we met.” Jongdae says, snickering. “He’s easier to read than you are~” 

“Jongdae!” Chanyeol whines. “Why did you keep this from me?” He asks.

“He swore me to secrecy.” Jongdae says.

“Fuck secrecy I’m your best friend!” Chanyeol says.

“Just because you’re my best friend, doesn’t mean I have to tell you _everything!”_

“But I tell _you_ everything!!” Chanyeol says.

“Only when I ask!” Jongdae argues. 

Chanyeol snorts, punching Jongdae’s shoulder. His friend winces and rubs the aching area, cackling.

“Seriously, Jongdae, what should I do about this?” He asks.

Jongdae hums, looking up at the ceiling in thought. 

Chanyeol isn’t sure if asking this guy is the best idea. Yixing would probably — no, _definitely_ be a better choice, so Chanyeol makes a mental note to ask him for some advice in the morning. 

“Confess to him _directly_ this time!” He says. 

“But I kinda already did that when I was drunk, didn’t I?” Chanyeol says.

Jongdae lays back down on the bed. “I guess you already did…” He says. “Oh!! You should kiss him!!” 

“What?!” Chanyeol shouts, getting off Jongdae to sit at the side of the bed instead. “Why should I?” He asks.

“Actions speak louder than words, Yeollie.” Jongdae says, nodding to himself. “Yes, you should call him over, and just kiss him! See how he reacts~” He continues. “If he kisses you back, good. If he doesn’t, then sorry man.” 

“What the hell kinda advice is this? I’ve never even kissed anyone before, so he’ll probably hate it either way…” Chanyeol says. 

“Just go for it!!” Jongdae says. “The worst that could happen is him kneeing you in the balls and storming out from embarrassment or something. But I know enough to tell you with certainty that he’ll enjoy it more than you will, even if you do turn out to be a bad kisser.” 

Chanyeol looks at Jongdae in consideration. A part of him knows Jongdae’s right about this, but calling him over to just kiss him is a bit curt, isn’t it? 

Besides, he doesn’t know the first thing about kissing. How is he supposed to initiate it? Does he just smash his lips against Baekhyun’s? What is he supposed to do after that? Just keep his lips there? 

He knows a certain type of kisses involve shoving his tongue in the other person’s mouth, but how is he supposed to know whether Baekhyun _wants_ him to do that or not? How does he know when to stop? 

It’s too confusing and there’s too much to think about. 

Chanyeol’s never had a crush before. He’s never liked anyone before and he’s never wanted to kiss another person before, either. Until Baekhyun, that is. 

Since the night he got drunk with Jongdae and found out about his feelings, he couldn’t stop thinking about Baekhyun. About how holding his beautiful hands and interlacing those slender fingers with his would feel; about wrapping his arms around the smaller’s built body and burying his head in the idol’s soft and fluffy hair. 

He keeps wondering about how Baekhyun would smell up-close. He _does_ have this certain scent that accompanied him whenever he visited Chanyeol in his apartment and it would always linger for a while even after he left; the one that had attached itself to his sheets for days after Baekhyun took a nap on his bed, and Chanyeol wonders if that’s what he would smell if he hugged Baekhyun or cuddled with him. 

And of course, he wondered briefly about his lips and how they would feel against his. He quickly brushed it off when he realised that he doesn’t even know how to kiss, so it’ll never happen.

_Unless…_

Chanyeol quickly gets up and grabs his laptop from his desk, sitting down on the floor with his legs crossed while feeling Jongdae’s eyes watching his every movement as he turns the device on, types his password and opens the browser.

“What are you doing?” Jongdae asks.

Chanyeol ignores him and goes on Google, typing his question. 

He hears Jongdae jump off his bed and scramble to sit down next to him, looking at his screen. 

After a moment of silently staring at it, Jongdae turns to him. “No you’re not.” He says.

“Shut up.” Chanyeol says.

“Chanyeol, you’re _not_ googling how to kiss someone.” 

“Look, either help me or go to bed. I don’t need your negativity!” Chanyeol says.

Jongdae sighs, moving to get his own laptop and sitting back down next to Chanyeol. 

“Fine.” 

——————

Chanyeol didn’t even get a minute’s worth of sleep the night before.

Now that he was assured that his father is on his way to a speedy recovery, and he _finally_ got to apologise for his actions and attitude, nothing could stop his thoughts about Baekhyun from completely taking over his mind. 

He returned to his apartment the previous night, and has since done nothing but have a debate with himself on whether he should call Baekhyun or not, like he and Jongdae had planned a few nights ago.

Chanyeol is sitting in the middle of his bed in his room that hasn’t ben cleaned for over a week now, while Jongdae lies on his stomach across the edge of it, his head facing Chanyeol’s direction.

“We already talked about this several times, Chanyeol.” Jongdae says. “Now are you going to call him or should I?” 

With a shake of his head, Chanyeol leans back to lay on his pillow, but bumps into his bed’s headboard instead. He clenches his eyes and quickly gets back up, reaching out to rub the aching spot as he hears Jongdae’s exasperated sigh.

“I don’t think I’m ready yet!” Chanyeol says.

Jongdae snorts. “Park Chanyeol, what exactly are you not ready for? Calling him? Because you’ve done that plenty of times already.” He says. “Hearing his voice? You listen to his music while you’re asleep and you keep rewatching his appearances on variety shows over and over again, so you can’t  _not_ be ready to see his face either.” 

“And if it’s the kissing part you’re worried about, then what the hell did I spend all that time helping you research and practice for?” Jongdae asks. “If you don’t have the balls to kiss him, then just confess to him using your words, like we planned!” 

It’s true. Jongdae stayed up with him that night to help him understand how kissing goes. He knows all the basics now, and how to know what the other person wants and needs just from carefully observing their body language. 

He researched enough about kisses to know how to tell if Baekhyun didn’t want to kiss anymore or if he wants to stop a little to breathe through his mouth, or if he wants to take it a step or two further. 

And in case that happens, Jongdae also helped him research _how_ to take it further. Which wasn’t as awkward as it sounds.

Though Jongdae told him he could just be straightforward — even if it doesn’t get anymore straightforward than a kiss — and tell Baekhyun he likes him, it isn’t as easy as being bold and smashing his lips against Baekhyun’s. 

“But I don’t have my words ready…” Chanyeol finally says. “You should’ve helped me prepare a proper confession in case this went downhill!” 

Jongdae ignores him, reaching out for Chanyeol’s phone and unlocking it. 

It all happens too fast. Chanyeol hates himself now more than ever for giving Jongdae the passcode for his phone.

The next thing he knows, the phone is held against his ear and all he can hear on the other end is Baekhyun’s whining. 

It’s early in the morning, after all, and Baekhyun probably doesn’t have a schedule today. 

Chanyeol takes in a deep breath as he watches Jongdae motion for him to start talking. 

_“Hello? Chanyeol?”_ He hears.

Baekhyun’s voice is laced with something akin to alarm, probably at the fact that Chanyeol called him at eight in the morning, which isn’t a time he’s usually up during, and has yet to utter a single word. He brushes it off, though.

It should be easy. He should just tell him that he needs to talk. He’ll worry about the other things after, when Baekhyun actually comes to visit.

He opens his mouth, but what comes out of it aren’t the words he already formed in his mind. 

“I need you!” He says, immediately clapping his hand against his mouth and staring wide-eyed at Jongdae as the latter repeatedly slaps the palm of his free hand on his forehead.

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything on the other end of he line. Instead, he hears a continuous beeping, indicating that he hung up.

Chanyeol blinks as Jongdae brings the phone closer to his own ear to hear it for himself. 

“What the fuck just happened?” He asks.

“I don’t know, maybe he went back to sleep?” Chanyeol responds. He runs his hand through his hair and sighs. “I messed up, didn’t I?” 

“That, you did.” Jongdae says, throwing Chanyeol’s phone on the other side of the bed and lying back down. “We’ll try again when he’s more awake, yeah?” 

Chanyeol nods before lying down as well, letting out another sigh. 

“What do we do now?” Chanyeol wonders.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m taking a nap.” Jongdae says, bringing Chanyeol’s duvet over to his side of the bed and wrapping his body with it. “Try not to bother me for five hours.” 

He doesn’t say anything. He lies stares at the ceiling for longer than he intends to. 

_How much longer can I last like this?_

When he’s finally bored, he opts to reach out for his phone behind him, unlocking it and checking his notifications. 

_ ** From: Baekhyun: ** _

_I’m out, I’ll be there soon_

Chanyeol sits back up so quickly, his head starts spinning. This was sent a minute ago, and it usually takes Baekhyun about 10 minutes to get to his place depending on the traffic.

_Shit, shit, shit!_

“Jongdae, this isn’t exactly the right time for a nap!” Chanyeol says.

“What did I _just_ say about bothering me?” Jongdae asks as he turns to face him, his eyes shooting open to give him a glare. 

“Baekhyun’s coming over.” Chanyeol says.

Jongdae immediately sits up as well, the duvet falling off his shoulder. “Are you serious?” He asks. “Okay, okay, you go brush your teeth and have a mint or something while I clean up your room a bit!” 

“I would question your demands if I knew better but I really don’t, so I’m just—”

“JUST GO!” Jongdae shouts as he throws a pillow at him. 

“I will!” Chanyeol says as he moves to the edge of his bed, planting his feet on the floor and standing up. “You don’t have to be so violent!” He adds, rubbing the back of his head as he takes slow steps to the bathroom outside his room.

His living room and kitchen are in a good state, and so is his bathroom, he notes as he walks in and turns the lights on. 

The only thing he has to worry about is his own oral hygiene at the moment.

So he stands in front of his sink and takes his toothbrush and toothpaste, and starts brushing. 

Chanyeol takes his glasses off and shuffles closer to the mirror, leaning over the sink as heobserves his physical appearance in the mirror, and for once he’s a bit conscious about how he looks. 

This is how he _always_ looks. Dark circles lightly decorating the area under his eyes, hair flying in every direction possible, making the back of his head resemble that of a duck’s butt, and he’s clad in the same clothes he’s always in, in the comfort of his own home.

He’s never been bothered by any of this until this very moment. Is this the image he wants Baekhyun to connect to the memory of his confession and quite possibly, if everything went as planned, their first kiss?

Chanyeol feels his grip on his toothbrush loosening as he tries to continue brushing his teeth properly. 

Baekhyun always looks nice. Even after days in which he’s had a very busy schedule, during which he’d be _fatigued,_ he still manages to look nice. 

_“You’re too handsome—”_ He remembers Baekhyun saying to him once, when he first brought him into his apartment, and he feels his cheeks heating up as he tightens his hold on his toothbrush and stars brushing with slightly more aggression. 

So he shakes those thoughts out of his head and tries to regulate the motion of his hand so that his teeth don’t fall off. 

If Baekhyun really does like him back, he’s probably been overlooking his lack of care for his image all this time.

Chanyeol finishes brushing his teeth and puts his glasses back on — or should he take them off? — to spend a few more moments checking himself out in the mirror. 

He runs his fingers through his hair to try to set some strands back into their rightful place. 

“What’s taking you so long?!” He hears Jongdae shout from his room.

Chanyeol pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and leaves the bathroom, turning the light off behind him and closing the door. 

“You’re still here?” He asks Jongdae as he walks back to his room.

Jongdae seems to have finished from clearing his clothes from the floor and the snack wrappers from his desk, and is focusing on fixing his bed now. 

“You’re fast~” He tells him as he moves to help him fluff his pillows and placing them against the headboard. 

“You’re not!” Jongdae says. “How long has it been? I need to leave before he gets here…”

“I’m not sure—” Chanyeol starts to say but he couldn’t finish.

He could clearly hear the thumping from outside his quiet apartment. The sounds of someone running towards the electronic gates right outside of his door. 

Chanyeol and Jongdae exchange a look as the gate opens and closes, and his heart rate starts to pick up.

“Don’t worry, you’re ready.” Jongdae whispers as he quickly puts down the pillow in his hand and moves to Chanyeol’s closet. “Just suck it up. You can do this, okay? I’ll be right here!” He continues as he walks in the closet.

He just quickly nods in Jongdae’s direction and takes a seat on the edge of his bed, facing his door. 

Jongdae being in the same room isn’t a problem for him, but he hopes Baekhyun doesn’t somehow find out that he is. Chanyeol isn’t sure how he would react to that. 

So he just shrugs and takes in a deep breath as he hears his front door being unlocked, and opened. 

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything straight away, but the hurried sounds of him taking his shoes off and the door shutting with a loud thud tells Chanyeol enough.

_Here goes nothing…_

Chanyeol takes another breath, and he listens to the sound of Baekhyun’s footsteps as he runs across the apartment to get to where he is. 

And when he’s finally standing at his room’s door, breath rather heavy from all the running he did, Chanyeol feels his own breath get caught in his throat. 

Guilt suddenly washes over him as he watches Baekhyun’s eyes searching his body for something, the concern he feels apparent in them. 

He’s in his pyjamas, his coat loosely hanging from his shoulders, and his hair is dishevelled for once. It’s clear he rushed here straight from bed. 

_Shit, I really did wake him up._

“Are you okay?!” Baekhyun asks, eyes still searching for something.

What if Baekhyun has a busy schedule today and needed the sleep he just deprived him of? If he messes this up and says the wrong thing, who knows what Baekhyun would do?  
  
“Chanyeol, what is it?” Baekhyun demands. “Why did you tell me to come?” 

He takes a moment to think this over. He can’t say anything now. He just has to go for it like Jongdae said.

“I didn’t tell you to come.” He chooses to say the truth, standing up and approaching Baekhyun slowly. “I just said I needed you.” 

Baekhyun snorts. “You scared me to death, you asshole!” He says. “I rushed here like an idiot _yet again_ for you and you just—”

When he’s only a few inches in front of him, he stops talking, looking up at Chanyeol withslightly panicked eyes instead. 

Chanyeol starts recounting the steps he’s read about. 

_To find the right moment…_

This is as right as any, isn’t it? 

“What?” Baekhyun mumbles as he continues looking Chanyeol in the eyes. 

Their eyes are locked. Chanyeol feels his heart racing as he forgets what he’s supposed to do next. All he knows is that there can’t be a moment more perfect for him to go for it than this. 

So he doesn’t answer him, and breaks eye contact to momentarily look down at Baekhyun’s lips, then back up at his eyes. He doesn’t see any sign of protest from Baekhyun, just confusion.

Instead, he brings his hands up to Baekhyun’s chin and lifts it up, tilting his own head slightly to the side and allowing his eyes to drift shut. He loosens his lips a bit and parts them to some degree, and he moves in at a pace not too slow and not too fast, to allow Baekhyun room to back out in case he doesn’t want this.

Chanyeol can’t express how relieved he is when his lips brush Baekhyun’s, and the other did no move to back out of the touch.

When he thinks he’s kept contact for long enough, his eyes flutter open to look at Baekhyun’s reaction, and he starts pulling away.

He must have done _something_ right because he doesn’t get far, as Baekhyun’s arms around his neck bring him right back in. Chanyeol is thankful for his quick reflexes when he tilts his head again to stop their noses from bumping into one another, and the slightly quickened speed of Baekhyun’s lips’ movement is anything but innocent. 

Even unexperienced Chanyeol could tell that it’s as if he’s been deprived of this for so long. 

Chanyeol doesn’t have time to think, though. He focuses on the feeling of Baekhyun’s lips grazing against his, and brings his own hands up to wrap them around Baekhyun’s body, pulling him closer. 

And it all felt so good. _Too_ good. This is better than he’d ever imagined it would be. 

His first kiss with Baekhyun; his first kiss _ever._

_He’s so good._

After a few seconds, Baekhyun pulls away, and Chanyeol opens his eyes to be greeted with a small smile playing on Baekhyun’s lips as they lock eyes once again. 

Chanyeol rests his forehead on Baekhyun’s, smiling back, making sure to show less teeth than he usually did, following his research. 

They exchange a few breaths before Baekhyun finally speaks again.

“I never thought you would like me this way.” He mutters. 

Chanyeol finally finds it in him to use his words, and responds. “I never realised I did until recently.” 

Baekhyun smirks. “Jongdae?” He asks.

He nods, letting out a soft chuckle. “If you liked me, why didn’t yo—”   
  
Chanyeol’s eyes widen when he remembers. He was so lost in the moment, he forgot Jongdae’s still in the room with them, listening in on their confession and probably even watching them.

He’s suddenly very wary of his friend’s presence, and he didn’t think it would make him feel this uncomfortable. He brings his arms back to his side and pulls away from Baekhyun. 

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asks. “Is something wrong?” 

Then he hears Jongdae’s laughter from his closet and he deadpans. Baekhyun doesn’t share the sentiment, and his eyes widen as he walks to the closet, gripping on the handles and pulling the doors open with a lot of force.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?” Baekhyun shouts, as he looks down at Jongdae while he continues laughing. “YOU LITTLE PERV!” He adds.

Jongdae’s laughter immediately dies down as he glances up at Baekhyun. “Not my fault you came uninvited!” He says. “I didn’t have time to hide elsewhere!!” 

“A warning would’ve been nice!!” Baekhyun says, turning to look at Chanyeol, who immediately looks away and starts rubbing his nape. 

“Okay but aside from everything, look at you guys!” Jongdae says. “Finally! I don’t have to watch Baekhyun desperately drop heavy hints while you,” He points at Chanyeol. “act all oblivious!” 

_“Act?”_ Baekhyun echoes. “I thought you really _were_ oblivious!” 

“Ah, he really _was_ oblivious. Poor wording on my end, sorry!” Jongdae says as he stands up. “Anyway, I’mma go home. You two can carry on~!” 

He walks past Baekhyun and Chanyeol and leaves the room.

When the door finally closes, Chanyeol turns to Baekhyun, flashing him a sheepish grin. 

“I never thought I’d be cock blocked by Kim Jongdae.” Baekhyun says.

“Really? I find it likely to happen four out of five times.” Chanyeol says, chuckling.

Baekhyun shakes his head and rolls his eyes. 

They stand there for a few seconds, neither of them knowing what to say. 

This was basically a confession, wasn’t it? Chanyeol kissed him, and he kissed him back. There’s no need to say anything, is there?

“So…” Baekhyun begins. 

“Yeah?” Chanyeol responds immediately. 

Baekhyun smiles shyly and licks his lips. “First of all, sorry about my morning breath.” He says. “Our first kiss wasn’t supposed to be like this…” 

Chanyeol moves to sit at the edge of his bed again, and motions for Baekhyun to join him. 

When he does, he drapes one of his arms over Baekhyun’s shoulder and pulls him closer. It only hit him what he’s done after he’s already done it, and Baekhyun’s head is already resting against his body. 

It feels like it’s the most natural thing. 

“What was it supposed to be like, then?” He asks, trying to ignore the way his heart beat is picking back up at the closeness, hoping Baekhyun wouldn’t make any comments regarding that.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think it would ever happen in the first place.” Baekhyun replies. 

“Why not?” Chanyeol asks. 

Baekhyun sighs. “I never intended on confessing to you.” He says. “At first, at least, but I thought a lot about it and came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be as big of a problem as I initially thought.” 

“Because you’re an idol, right?” Chanyeol asks. “I don’t understand why it would be a problem in the first place… Fans are so weird. If they really do support you, then they would let you do whatever you want as long as it’s not morally wrong.” 

“Yeah, well, can’t really do anything about that.” Baekhyun says, chuckling. “I was more worried about them finding out about you and harassing you or something.” He continues. “But then I realised they’d probably think you’re just my friend, and they wouldn’t react to me hanging out with you as terribly as they would if you were a girl, you know?” 

Chanyeol nods in understanding, though he knows Baekhyun can’t see him. He lets out a hum as well. 

He looks down at the top of Baekhyun’s head, resisting the urge — and failing — to bring his hand up and slowly run it through the smaller’s soft hair.

Baekhyun stays still for a while, leaning into Chanyeol’s hand. When he stops, Baekhyun looks up at him curiously.

“Why’d you stop?” He asks. 

“You’re so cute straight out of bed.” Chanyeol says, ignoring his question.

Baekhyun stares at him quietly, then looks away. “Shut up.” He says.

Chanyeol chuckles. “Sorry I woke you up by the way.” He says.

“It’s fine. I had to wake up for a schedule anyway, and my manager’s going to kill me for running out without letting him know where I’m headed.” Baekhyun says.

He brings his phone up to show Chanyeol his exchange of messages with his manager. 

_ ** From: Junmyeonnie hyung: ** _

_You’re dead_

_ ** From: Junmyeonnie hyung: ** _

_I’m coming to pick you up in 10 mins_

_ ** From: Junmyeonnie hyung: ** _

_Meet me outside or so help me_

“He sounds nice.” Chanyeol says, chuckling.

Baekhyun sighs, sitting up, causing Chanyeol to drop his arm from the idol’s shoulders to lay loosely on the bed. 

“Do you really have to leave right away?” Chanyeol asks, pouting as Baekhyun turns to look at him. “We finally confessed to each other and I don’t want you to leave yet…” 

The idol frowns. “Stop looking at me like that, it’s making me feel guilty!” He says.

Chanyeol’s pout only deepened as he wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s shoulder to pull him closer again. 

“I want to spend more time with you.” He says.

He doesn’t know what’s taken over him all of a sudden, but he does know that parting with Baekhyun is the worst thing that could happen to him at the very moment.

Although it confuses him, he doesn’t think too much about it and just goes with it. 

“Your pout is strong enough to give me half a mind to end my entire career, what the hell?” Baekhyun says. “I really wish I could stay, but I’m very busy these days. I’ll make it up to you, though. I promise!” He adds.

“When?” Chanyeol asks. 

“As soon as I’m free. I’ll tell you.” Baekhyun says. “Maybe I’ll surprise you instead, you never know~” 

“Fine.” Chanyeol says, letting him go. “I’ll try to be patient.” 

Baekhyun flashes him with a smile as he gets off his bed, fixing his jacket up and pulling his hood up. “I’ll call you tonight!” He says.

Chanyeol smiles back. 

“I’ll be waiting.” He says.

——————

Chanyeol spent an entire week waiting for Baekhyun to show his face again.

If he could have, he would have gone to visit Baekhyun himself but he has no idea where he lives. He’s never bothered to ask, and maybe soon would be the time for him to do so. 

He showed up unannounced at night with a bag full of ingredients as an apology for leaving him so soon after their confession.

He couldn’t hold back from taking Baekhyun in his arms, and knocking his grocery bags down when he first walked in earlier to surprise him. He couldn’t refrain himself from showering the idol with kisses, completely disregarding the fact that this was only their second time, and he’s read somewhere that he wasn’t supposed to come on too strong so that he doesn’t scare the other away.

Chanyeol didn’t care, though. And Baekhyun didn’t seem bothered by it, either. He was more daring than Chanyeol was with his actions, if anything.

About five minutes of watching him attempt to cook made it clear for Chanyeol that Baekhyun has no idea how to, and he took over while Baekhyun sat on the counter and watched him.

They’ve already finished eating and cleaning up, and were now lying on the couch in Chanyeol’s living room, watching a movie.

Chanyeol sits with his legs stretched out on the coffee table, while Baekhyun lies over the length of the couch, head resting on Chanyeol’s lap as the latter ran his fingers through his hair in slow movements. He seemed to like it the first time he did it, so he absentmindedly started doing it as soon as they’ve settled in their current positions.

There’s nothing special about lying down like this and watching a movie, but it just feels like It is to Chanyeol. 

When the credits start to roll and Chanyeol realises that Baekhyun’s been a little too quiet, he looks down to see that he’s fast asleep, and seems to have been asleep for a while now.

He smiles at the sight, and carefully moves to bring the blanket up from Baekhyun’s waist to his shoulders, tucking him in as he continues massaging his head. 

One look at Baekhyun’s face as he slept tells Chanyeol that he’s really tired. It left him feeling guilty that he took time out of his busy schedule to see him when he should’ve gone straight home to rest up. 

He’s been patient all week, and he would’ve been okay with spending more time apart if it meant Baekhyun would rest more. 

Chanyeol sighs, taking the remote and turning the TV off. He looks back at Baekhyun and smiles again. The idol just looks so innocent when he’s asleep.

He enjoys the moment for what it is. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the delay ಥ_ಥ 
> 
> Hope this was worth the wait!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, it's been a hectic week >~<
> 
> I felt so bad, I took some time today to add an extra 1k+ words just to try to make it up ;◡;
> 
> Please read the end notes!

“He just sent me another email.” 

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. He’s been listening to Jongdae go on about the supervisor he’s been assigned for a big project due next semester since he barged in on him in his apartment two hours ago.

“He’s already asking to meet again tomorrow. I don’t get it, I’m the one who’s supposed to be chasing after him to meet with me and help me, not the other way around!!” Jongdae says, shutting his laptop off with a loud thud and pushing it away to the edge of Chanyeol’s bed.

Jongdae’s only had one short meeting with this PhD student to brief him on the project, but he’s already managed to complain about it for two whole hours. Every time Chanyeol has tried to switch topics, he ends up bringing it back up.

The one he truly pities is the student responsible for his friend. Jongdae’s hardworking, but he tends to leave all his work for the very last minute, despite what he says about how he studies all the time. He would have an entire semester to work on an essay or report, and he would only write it a week or less before the deadline, then he shamelessly questions why he’s failing some of his classes.

Chanyeol sighs. “Just reply his email, Jongdae.” He says. “Act like you give a damn about the project so that it won’t reflect badly in his final report on you.” 

He’s practically done for the semester even though there’s about a week and a half left of it, so he’s left with absolutely nothing to do other than pine for Baekhyun while the latter is busy preparing for his comeback. So Chanyeol’s been on his computer all day long, trying to get the idol off his mind by upgrading his character in-game while attempting to focus on what Jongdae’s ranting about. 

Multitasking is a difficult thing for Chanyeol to do, though, and he couldn’t focus on both, so he sighs, logging out and shutting his computer down. He turns around in his swivel chair to face Jongdae, watching as he furiously typed on his phone.

_What’s he so focused on?_

“Jongdae?” Chanyeol asks. 

The other quickly whips his head up, looking at Chanyeol with a big smile on his face as if he hasn’t been expressing his distress over his new supervisor not even five minutes before. 

“What?” He asks.

“You’re meeting your supervisor tomorrow, aren’t you?” Chanyeol says, grabbing his own phone, which he left lying on his bed. “Shouldn’t you be preparing for the meeting, then? He told you to do some reading, remember?” 

“Are you that eager to get rid of me?” Jongdae asks, raising a brow. “So ungrateful~” 

He sighs. “And how exactly am I being ungrateful?”

Jongdae smirks and looks back down at his phone’s screen. He doesn’t say anything else, leaving Chanyeol to his own thoughts as he got up and left the room.

_Ungrateful… What would I be ungrateful for?_

Chanyeol just shrugs and brings his own phone in front of his face and unlocks it. 

He checks his notifications to see a few messages and some missed calls from about an hour ago. 

And of course, as usual, only one name catches his eyes, so he taps on it. He would’ve gladly answered the phone calls had he heard his phone ringing, if just to escape from Jongdae’s mouthing off about his supervisor. 

_I shouldn’t keep my phone on silent anymore…_

Yet again, there’s a small chance he wouldn’t have heard it either way with an irritated Jongdae in his room. 

** _From: Baekhyun_ **

_Yeollieee_

** _From: Baekhyun_ **

_Chanyeoooollieeeee_

 

** _From: Baekhyun_ **

_Answer your phone!!_

** _From: Baekhyun_ **

_Fine_

** _From: Baekhyun_ **

_Just wanted to let you know that I’m stopping by with my manager tomorrow night_

** _From: Baekhyun_ **

_Try to look presentable_

** _From: Baekhyun_ **

_And by presentable I mean not wearing the pjs I always see you in_

** _From: Baekhyun_ **

_Do you even wash those btw? For future reference, so I avoid cuddling with you when you’re in them_

_ ** From: Baekhyun ** _

_Anyway yeah_

Chanyeol sighs. He doesn’t like meeting new people, and meeting an important person in Baekhyun’s life sounds a little intimidating.

Baekhyun has told him a lot about his manager, Junmyeon. How he is like an older brother to him, and has been nothing but good to him ever since he was assigned as his manager. He always stands by Baekhyun’s side whenever he was being treated somewhat unfairly by the higher ups at the agency. 

He’s also told Chanyeol about how he’s been living together with Junmyeon since a little before he debuted. As much as he’s occasionally bothered by how messy his manager is, he always makes sure Baekhyun eats well and gets enough sleep, despite his busy schedule from time to time. 

Although he knows a little more than necessary about Baekhyun’s manager, Chanyeol’s still worried about the kind of impression Junmyeon will have on him. So he might take up on Baekhyun’s advice — or was it a demand? —and clean himself up a bit.

_ ** To: Baekhyun ** _

_okay_

Chanyeol immediately closes the chat, knowing Baekhyun is most likely busy right now with practice as usual, and won’t be replying him anytime soon. He still keeps his eyes glued to his blank screen, trying to catch his reflection in it. 

He can already smell his hair, and doesn’t need to get a proper look at it to know it’s dirty.

After the whole thing with his father, Chanyeol’s made up his mind to try harder to attend more of his classes. And it worked, for that one week, at least. He hasn’t attended a single one of his classes this week, and he’s been holed up in his apartment doing the usual. He has no doubt that he needs to take a long shower today, and another one in the morning, in preparation for meeting Baekhyun’s manager tomorrow. 

For now, he needs to find a way to kick Jongdae out of his apartment, which he already deems impossible as he looks up to see his friend lying on his bed, legs stretched out andthe bottom of what were once white socks pointed at his direction. 

Chanyeol grimaces at the sight. 

“I told you to take your socks off next time you sit on my bed!” Chanyeol says, getting off his seat and pulling said dirty socks from Jongdae’s feet.

His friend doesn’t protest, though, as he seems pretty occupied with whoever he was texting at the moment. 

Chanyeol throws his socks on the floor beside his bed and sighs as he looks at Jongdae. “I’ve never seen you have such an intense conversation with someone before.” He mutters as he turns his swivel chair back around to face his computer instead, placing his phone on the desk.

He brings his hand up to seize control of his mouse and opens his game back up to pass time playing since Jongdae doesn’t look like he’s leaving anytime soon. 

And just as the game finishes loading up, he hears the soft creaks from his bed as Jongdae gets up and sits at the edge of one of the sides to pick his socks up and put them back on without another word.

When he’s done and has moved to the door, he turns to Chanyeol.

“First of all, my socks are clean! Second, who I talk to is none of your business~” Jongdae says. 

Chanyeol clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes, not even bothering to turn around to see that his friend is leaving already. And it’s only 10 PM, he confirmed as his eyes flick to the upper right corner of his computer screen, which is very unusual for him.

Most of the time, he wouldn’t even leave in the morning to go to his own place to sleep, and only ever actually leaves when he misses his bed too much. 

“I couldn’t care less who you’re talking to. I didn’t even ask!” Chanyeol said.

All he hears is Jongdae’s chuckles from the living room. “Bye, loser!” He shouts before he leaves.

Chanyeol sighs, staring at the title screen for a few seconds before exiting the game once again. He pushes his chair back, and stands up to head to the bathroom. 

He somehow ends up sleeping at a reasonable hour this night. 

——————

When Chanyeol woke up a bit too early the next morning after a satisfactory sleep, — and at a time he would usually still be awake during — he had enough time to make himself breakfast for once. 

Of course, boiling two eggs and eating them isn’t a proper breakfast, but still.

He even managed to squeeze in a short gaming session with Yixing, who was still awake at the time, before he had to leave for work. His day started out pretty well.

And he would be enjoying his walk to work right now if it isn’t for the fact that it’s raining. Heavily, too. He sighs, tightening his grip around his umbrella and bringing it closer to his body.

_Fuck this weather._

Chanyeol hates holding up an umbrella, and it was kind of pointless because of the light wind causing the rain to go in every direction instead of just downwards. So he had the hood of his hoodie, which he wore underneath his padded jacket, up and tightened around his face to protect his hair. 

He doesn’t feel like showering again when he gets back from work, and he sort of already worked on his hair in the morning in preparation for meeting Junmyeon tonight. He’s probably going to get changed, fix his hair up a bit, then stay on his computer until Baekhyun walks in his apartment like he owns the place as he usually does.

When he finally gets to the backdoor of the café, he opens the door and pulls his umbrella down to shrug off some of the raindrops that had accumulated at the top of it, and closes it, sliding it in the umbrella holder near the door before shutting it closed. 

It’s still so early in the morning. The sun has yet to rise, so it’s pretty dark. Reasons like this is why Chanyeol isn’t particularly fond of winter time, because no matter how many winters pass, it always feels wrong to be up and going before the sun is — even if it’s a habit for him to stay up until late that time on an almost daily basis.

And it’s especially worse in the evenings when the sun sets around four, and it already feels like the day is ending. For many people, at least. Chanyeol only sees it as time to go to his room and cease human contact. Maybe just not with Baekhyun as of recently, though.

Chanyeol pulls his hood down and takes his padded jacket off and hangs it on the hook near the door, where a couple of raincoats and jackets similar to his are hanging and are left to dry off, leaving small puddles of water on the ground underneath them. 

_Gotta remember to mop this up later._

He moves to his locker, and tries to juggle unlocking it, and shrugging his bag and hoodie off at the same time. He takes out his black apron before throwing his hoodie inside along with his backpack, and closing the locker with the least amount of force he could muster. 

It took him several failed attempts to fasten his apron around his waist, and he also folds hiswhite dress shirt’s sleeves up. He takes one last look in the mirror they had in the backroom, running a hand through his hair. 

Then he makes his way outside of the backroom to find his coworker, Minseok, already there and getting ready for opening, which is about an hour away. None of the other waiters who work this shift with them are here yet, it seems. It’s probably just them and those who worked the kitchen here at the moment.

“Chanyeol, you’re here!” Minseok says as he stands behind the counter, refilling the cutlery baskets with recently washed utensils as well as clean napkins.

He nods at him. “Good morning, hyung~” Chanyeol greets as he stands in the middle of the café, watching his senior do his work. 

“Good morning!” Minseok says as he lifts his head up and flashes him with a smile, and Chanyeol wonders for a second where he got all this energy from. “I already mopped the floor. Can you put all the chairs down for now?” He asks as he gestures to the dining area.“And when you’re done, restock the shelves, please.” He adds, pointing at their direction.

“I’m on it.” Chanyeol says as he moves to the nearest table and starts putting the chairs down on the floor, then pushing them in their rightful position under the table. 

After he’s done with his task, he goes to the backroom and grabs the surface spray and a new piece of cloth, then heads back to the main room and starts wiping all the tables. 

His coworkers show up at one point and start doing whatever tasks Minseok and Chanyeol haven’t already taken care of.

It’s about 20 minutes to opening time, and there’s nothing left to do. The two who showed up a little late take care of putting up all the recently baked goods in the displays. 

So Chanyeol is left with nothing to do, and instead hovering around the counter usually manned by Kyungsoo as he waits for customers to start coming in. 

He settles to propping his elbow up on the counter and resting his chin on his palm, silently watching his coworkers converse with one another, and lets out a sigh.

_I can’t wait for this day to end…_

Chanyeol is surprised when he feels a light tap on his shoulder, visibly flinching and quickly straightening up. He turns around and has to look down to see Minseok chuckling at his reaction.

“Sorry!” Minseok says. “It’s easy to forget how easy you startle with that height.” He says.

He smiles at his senior, ignoring how fast his heartbeat picked up from the short interaction. “It’s fine!” Chanyeol says. “Did you need me to do anything else?” He asks.

Minseok smiles and shakes his head. “We’re pretty much done.” He says. “I was just here because I remembered it’s your birthday tomorrow. Am I right?” 

Chanyeol gives a single nod of his head, and doesn’t say anything else, as curious as he is as to why Minseok is asking him about his birthday. 

Come to think of it, even _he_ sort of forgot about his birthday.

Does Baekhyun know when his birthday is? Chanyeol only knows Baekhyun’s birthdate because of all the articles he’s read about him when they first became friends. He wonders if it’s even his real birthday, given how some entertainment companies falsify this type of information sometimes. 

He tries to bring his attention back to Minseok though, as the latter hums in thought. “We’re all having drinks after work on Sunday as usual, and I’d like for you to come this time so we can all celebrate your birthday.” He says.

Chanyeol is reluctant, because he’s never socialised with any of his coworkers outside of work. 

“You’re not getting out of this one easily!” Minseok says. “You can invite your own friends if that’ll make you feel better. Just show up, please?”

It’s not like he has anything to do the day after tomorrow. Hell, he doesn’t even know if he has any plans tomorrow, on the day of. And it doesn’t sound so bad if he can invite Jongdae and they can both be awkward at the same social event.

So he nods. “Okay, I’ll be there. Is it really okay if I bring a friend along?” He asks.

“Of course! Anything to make you comfortable. We’re celebrating _you,_ after all.” Minseok says, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder before walking away.

Maybe he should try to make plans with Baekhyun tomorrow. 

Ever since he got together with Baekhyun, he’s been doing a little research on how to maintain a good romantic relationship with someone, and he’s read plenty of articles on how holidays and special days such as birthdays are meant to be spent with your ‘significant other’, if not your family. 

He’s been spending his birthdays with cake on his face rather than in his stomach with Jongdae laughing obnoxiously at him and leaving him to clean up since he started living alone.

It’ll be a good if he changes things up this year.

_I’ll talk to him about this tonight._

——————

Chanyeol ended up taking a nap after he returned home, then frantically cleaning up whatever mess Jongdae made in his kitchen while he was at work. 

He hasn’t heard from Baekhyun yet. He’s all dressed up and Jongdae’s the only one he could show off to. So he locked up his apartment earlier, and ran across the driveway to his friend’s place.

Jongdae’s couch has been good to his aching body for the past couple of hours as he stares blankly at his phone, waiting for Baekhyun to call.

It’s been about two weeks since he’s last seen him, and for the first time in his life, he finds himself missing someone. 

He hates being away from Baekhyun for too long. And he hates the feeling of longing for someone who’s too busy for him. He hates that the last time the idol was with him, he felt aselfish urge to ask Baekhyun to stay with him a little longer when he had to go home early to get some proper rest for a schedule early the next morning. 

That didn’t mean he hates how he feels about Baekhyun. 

They’ve only confessed to one another about three weeks ago, and even though they only got to spend three nights together as something more than friends, — he still doesn’t know what to refer to this as. Are they just dating? Or are they boyfriends? — he could already tell that his feelings might be stronger than what he had initially thought they were.

He can’t be sure about anything yet, though.

Chanyeol sighs as he turns to lay on his back instead. 

“What the actual fuck?” Jongdae shouted. 

He almost forgot his friend was sitting right in front of him on the floor with his laptop resting on his crossed legs. He hasn’t changed from the clothes he’s been wearing all morning at university, which was strange, because Jongdae changes out of his going-out clothes before he even makes it to his room.

Basically, Jongdae’s been acting weird all day, and he can’t come up to a reason as to why.

“What?” Chanyeol asks.

“It’s eight fucking PM on a Friday night, doesn’t this guy have anything better to do?” Jongdae says.

Immediately, he knows that Jongdae’s talking about his supervisor again. Chanyeol sighs.

_Not this again._

“He just wants what’s best for you.” Chanyeol says, gluing his eyes back to his phone’s screen and praying for Baekhyun to call him any second now.

“And to save his ass from his own supervisor.” Jongdae mutters bitterly.

Chanyeol groans. “Stop bitching and set another meeting with him already. Preferably for tomorrow, I really need a day off from you.” 

“Shut up, I’m a delight.” Jongdae says. “Ugh, fine. Don’t come crying to me when you miss me too much~” 

“Ah, that reminds me. I’m being forced to go out for drinks with my coworkers on Sunday, and they said I could bring a friend. So you’re coming.” Chanyeol says.

“I want to say no to the invitation, but not to the opportunity of free drinks.” Jongdae says as he turns around to face him with a rather disturbing grin on his face. “So sure, count me in. Anything to make my giant puppy comfortable!” He continues as he leans forward and gently scratches Chanyeol’s chin.

Chanyeol slaps Jongdae’s hand away and has to endure his laughter ringing against his ears.

“Who said your drinks are going to be free?” Chanyeol asks.

“Since you’re the one inviting me, my drinks are clearly going to be paid for by you!” Jongdae says, nodding to himself. 

“Fine, just don’t bail on me!” Chanyeol says.

Jongdae chuckles again. “I won’t, relax!” He says. “Have you heard from Baekhyun yet, by the way?” 

“Not yet. His practice can go on for longer than expected sometimes…” Chanyeol says, letting out a sigh. 

“Let’s go over to your place and wait for him there, then.” Jongdae says as he shuts his laptop down and places it on the end table next to the couch. “I want to meet manager hyung too!”

It would make things less awkward than Chanyeol is anticipating, so he isn’t even going to try denying the other from tagging along.

“Alright.” He says as he puts his feet down on the floor. “Do I look presentable enough?” Chanyeol asks as he stands up and helps Jongdae up to his feet.

Jongdae gives him a once-over before nodding. “You’re making this seem like you’re meeting his parents.” He says.

“I might as well be.” Chanyeol says. “Junmyeon is the closest thing to family Baekhyun’s had since he moved out here, and he’s expressed many times how much he means to him. I need to leave a decent enough impression, don’t I?” 

“You need to chill…” Jongdae says. “You know even my parents love you more than they love me, right? You don’t even need to try appealing to manager hyung.” 

Chanyeol just takes a deep breath. Despite his friend’s somewhat comforting words, he’s still a little nervous. But maybe this is just the overwhelming excitement of seeing Baekhyun again for the first time in weeks combined with his anxiousness at meeting Junmyeon.

They quietly exit Jongdae’s apartment and make their short way to his, and after a little struggle with getting the keys out of his pocket yet again thanks to collection of keychains, and his fidgeting from the cold weather, he opens both doors and steps in.

Initially, Chanyeol didn’t know what to expect out of tonight, but he was sure as it wasn’t anything like this. 

As soon as he and Jongdae take their shoes off and step into his apartment, the lights suddenly flicker on and a heavy weight running into his arms causes him to fall flat on his ass.

“HOW _DARE_ YOU NOT TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BIRTHDAY!” Baekhyun is suddenly yelling into his ear, and he winces at the proximity and volume of the idol’s voice.

He quietly wraps his arms tight around Baekhyun instead of attempting to get off the floor, and brings him even closer against his body.

“Eww, get a room!” Jongdae says as he steps over them and heads further inside his living room.

“I missed you, Chanyeollie~! It should be illegal to be so far away from you for so long!” Baekhyun says, nuzzling his hair against Chanyeol’s chest.

_Don’t stay away for too long, then…_

Chanyeol’s response comes out as a whisper compared to Baekhyun’s as he says his next words. “I missed you too.” He says as he ruffles the idol’s hair affectionately.

He wants to voice out his thoughts so bad, but does his best to stop himself from doing so. 

“It’s only been like a week, get over yourselves and let’s get hammered cause God knows I’ll need it since I’m stuck here with you two.” 

Chanyeol finally lets go of Baekhyun, allowing him to get back up. The idol brushes his clothes off and offers a hand to help Chanyeol up as well, who takes it. 

When he’s back on his feet, he’s finally able to take a look around his apartment, to see the kitchen counters and island, as well as his coffee table, — which has been pushed to the side to make space in the living room — are all filled with snacks and drinks. 

“A surprise party for my one and only!” Baekhyun says as he gestures to the living room. “You can celebrate with your two friends today, because tomorrow, you’re all mine.”

Chanyeol tries not to show how flustered he feels because of Baekhyun’s statement that gets Jongdae snickering and choking on the food he’s already shoved in his mouth, so he just looks down until Jongdae stops coughing.

He looks back up to scan the room once more, finding that they’re the only occupants at the moment, and lets out a sigh of relief. 

“I thought I was meeting your manager today?” Chanyeol says. “What the hell did I wear jeans for if it’s only the three of us?” He asks.

“Oh, that was just an excuse to get you out of your pyjamas. I took the liberty to put them in the washer while you were away, just so you know. They smell terrible…” Baekhyun says. “But Junmyeon hyung does want to meet you soon!”

All Chanyeol could do in response to that is shake his head.

Chanyeol moves further in the living room instead, to see his laptop set up on the TV, and Yixing’s face displayed on it. He smiles when Chanyeol appears in the frame, and he’s never seen Yixing’s dimples this clearly before. 

He waves at him. _“Happy early birthday, Chanyeol-ah!”_ Yixing says. 

“Thank you, hyung!” Chanyeol says as he shoves his face in front of the camera, giving Yixing a bright smile. He then turns around and sits on the carpet in front of the TV.

_“I ordered you a present. It’s with Jongdae-ah, I told him to give it to you. Did he?”_ Yixing asks.

“You didn’t have to get me anything!” Chanyeol says. “Even Jongdae only gets me a small cake every year…” 

Yixing chuckles. _“Shh, we’ve been good friends for almost three years now, it’s about time I get you something for your birthday.”_

“But I didn’t get you anything for _your_ birthday last month.” Chanyeol says, frowning.

_“Birthday gifts aren’t something you should exchange with others.”_ Yixing says with a shake of his head and a small smile. _“Just accept it and shut up.”_

“But this means I’m forced to get you something next year!” Chanyeol says. “What if I’m too broke at that time to get you anything? You know how bad I am at saving up for things!” 

_“Chanyeol-ah.”_ Yixing says, his smile completely wiped off his face now. _“Just stop talking, okay?”_

“Why are you happier to see Yixing hyung than you were seeing me?” Baekhyun asks with his mouth full as he plops himself down on the floor next to Chanyeol. The bag of chips he’s carrying almost empties out on the floor as he does so.

Chanyeol shoves him playfully with his shoulder.

“Hey!!” Baekhyun whines. “My drink’s spilled all over your stupid carpet!” 

“I worked hard on mixing that for him!!” Jongdae yells from the kitchen as he pours a mixture of a fizzy drink and what seems to be a bottle of vodka into a glass.

Jongdae puts the bottles down and walks over to them with a kitchen towel, placing it over the wet area, then goes back to the kitchen and continues mixing.

“Chanyeol, do you want a shot?” Jongdae asks. 

“Nah, I’m good!” He says as he eats a potato chip Baekhyun held up in front of his mouth in offering. 

“Come on, we’ve already had two shots each.” Baekhyun says as he sips whatever is left in his glass.

“That was quick.” Chanyeol says. “If you two keep this up, we’ll all be knocked out by 11.” 

“Okay, I’m done!” Jongdae says as he walks over carrying two full glasses. 

He hands one to Chanyeol, and one to Baekhyun, then takes Baekhyun’s already empty glass and goes back to the kitchen to dump it in the sink, which already looks a little too full for Chanyeol’s liking. Jongdae grabs his own drinks and makes his way back to them, and sits down next to Chanyeol, facing Yixing on the screen.

Yixing holds up his glass and raises it towards the screen. _“To Chanyeol-ah!”_ He says as he drinks.

The rest of them drink as well — some more than others.

Chanyeol grimaces as he puts his glass down on the floor in front of him and watches as Jongdae gulps most of his drink down, while Baekhyun has already finished half. 

“What the hell did you put in this, Jongdae?” Chanyeol asks. “It tastes disgusting!” 

“Tastes fine to me!” Baekhyun says as he takes another sip, then dives right back into his bag of chips.

“Your taste buds must be what’s wrong here, because I make excellent drinks.” Jongdae says as he puts down his nearly empty glass.

Baekhyun puts his bag of chips down on the carpet and stands up, extending his hand to Chanyeol, who takes it. “Come on, let’s go make you something better, birthday boy!” He says as he pulls Chanyeol up and leads him to the kitchen.

There are a couple of shot glasses already laid out, and Baekhyun refills four of them with the bottle of vodka, which is only half full now. 

He then moves to the fridge and takes out two bottles of coke and gives one to Chanyeol. 

“Drink up!” Baekhyun says with a grin on his face as he opens his own bottle, placing the cap on the counter and grabbing one of the small glasses to take a shot. 

Chanyeol smiles at how happy, relaxed and well-rested Baekhyun is for once, and does the same. 

Before he knows it, he’s already taken three shots, and mixed his own drink. He doesn’t mind the combination of this fizzy drink and vodka as much as he minded whatever Jongdae gave him.

He went back to sitting next to Jongdae with Baekhyun, feeling a burn in his stomach and nothing else as he continued drinking.

Yixing excused himself about an hour later, as he has some work to attend to. So it’s just them now, listening to the music Jongdae had turned on after the video call ended. 

Chanyeol has yet to receive any proper birthday presents other than the snacks Baekhyun kept throwing in his way to share. He’s slowly becoming more clingy and whiny after only three shots and a glass and a half of mixed drinks.

The idol went from laying on the floor, to sitting between Chanyeol’s legs and leaning his back on him while sipping his third drink.

Jongdae’s already tripping every time he gets up for a refill in the kitchen, and Baekhyun’s drunken state is progressively worsening.

“Chanyeol-aaaaah,” Baekhyun says as he brings his free hand up and cups Chanyeol’s cheek. “Are you okay?” He asks.

He only hums in response, already feeling a bit tipsy and a little sleepy. He’s been up for so long, — the nap doesn’t count, it only made him even more drowsy — and sitting down like this with Baekhyun isn’t really helping keeping him awake any longer.

“Is Jongdae okay?” Baekhyun asks.  
  
Chanyeol turns his head to look at Jongdae, who seems to be washing the dishes for some reason. He hums again.

“Is Kyungs—” Baekhyun begins to say but is startled by a glass falling and shattering on the kitchen floor.

Chanyeol chuckles, and he finds it hard to stop. A broken glass is on his kitchen floor, and he can’t even bring himself to worry about cleaning it right now, even if one them — Jongdae, most likely, might end up with a couple of shards in his foot at any moment.

He continues chuckling, and Baekhyun starts whining while slapping the same cheek he was cupping earlier. 

“It’s not funny!!!” Baekhyun says. “Jongdae’s gonna die if we don’t save him, Yeol-ah!” 

But he can’t help himself, seeing Jongdae looking down at the floor, confused as to how he’s going to make it back to them without hurting himself. 

Jongdae does end up stepping over the shards, however, only to reveal to Baekhyun and Chanyeol that he has slippers on, and he smirks while raising one of his feet to show them.

“He survived, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun says, shoving two chocolate covered biscuit sticks in his mouth while chuckling. 

Chanyeol buries his face in Baekhyun’s head and starts laughing hysterically. Then he stops immediately when something hits him on the head.

He looks up to see one of Jongdae’s hands covered in white frosting and he has a mischievous smileon his lips. 

“This is my gift for you, babe~” Jongdae says, bringing his hand back closer to Chanyeol’s head to continue spreading the frosting all over. “I’m gonna leave you two alone now!” He says as he stands back up.

He stumbles his way out of Chanyeol’s apartment without another word.

Chanyeol quietly contemplates whether he should get up and wash the cake off his hair, but opts against it as he feels Baekhyun’s soft, slow breathing. He fell asleep pretty quickly.

What time is it, anyway? How long have they been drinking and eating for?

He shrugs, standing up while bringing Baekhyun up along with him and laying him down on the couch. 

Chanyeol places a kiss on Baekhyun’s cheek, then proceeds to turn off the music and TV and retreats to the bathroom. He definitely isn’t sleeping without another shower.

——————

The morning after, Chanyeol finds himself in his bed, with little memory as to how he got there, and a headache he knows won’t be going away anytime soon.

And when he realises he isn’t alone in bed, bits and pieces of what had occurred the night before started coming back to him. 

He remembers Baekhyun barging in on him while he was showering, and didn’t even bother taking his clothes off when he joined him…

_Shit._

Chanyeol’s eyes widen as he quickly lifted his duvet up to check whether he has clothes on or not. He sighs in relief when he finds that he does — both of them do. 

Baekhyun’s in _his_ clothes though, which, even while lying down, look big on him. 

What catches his attention the most, though, is how Baekhyun’s arms are wrapped around his waist while his head rests against one of Chanyeol’s arms. 

Despite the feeling of numbness taking over his entire arm, he isn’t uncomfortable, and can’t find it in him to move Baekhyun’s head away to allow blood to start circulating in his arm again. 

He smiles when he watches Baekhyun stir a little as his eyes start fluttering, then they slowly open up to look at him. 

Baekhyun’s eyes also widen in realisation at their current positions.

“We didn’t!” Chanyeol says. “I mean, it wouldn’t be that bad if we did, would it…?” He asks.

Baekhyun smiles and shakes his head. 

Chanyeol smiles again. “Good morning.” He finally says.

“Good morning, Yeol.” Baekhyun says. “I’m so sorry about last night. I don’t why I’m like that when I’m drunk or even tipsy, but I hope I wasn’t hard to deal with.” 

“You were fine.” Chanyeol says as he wraps his free arm around Baekhyun and rests his forehead against the idol’s. “You don’t have to leave, do you?” He asks.

Baekhyun shakes his head. “I told you, I’m yours today.” He says. “Besides, I didn’t give you your birthday gift yet, did I?” 

“You got me something?” Chanyeol asks as Baekhyun moves to get up. 

Chanyeol sits up as well, and watches Baekhyun.

“Of course!” He says, getting off the bed and crouching down to peek under it.

He comes back up with a small white bag, and climbs back to bed. He sits in front of Chanyeol and hands it to him with two hands.

“Happy birthday, Chanyeol!” He says, grinning brightly.

_So beautiful…_

Chanyeol smiles back and accepts the gift, trying to ignore the way his cheeks are slowly heating up. “Thank you~” He says.

“Open it!” Baekhyun says as he looks expectantly at Chanyeol.

The taller does as he’s told, and peeks inside the bag to find a small white jewellery box, as well as something else. He takes out the two objects he doesn’t identify first, and holds them up to Baekhyun.

“What are these?” He asks.

“These are ear piercing kits, clearly.” Baekhyun says. 

Chanyeol chuckles. “I know you’re not expecting me to pierce my ears, Byun Baekhyun.” He says.

“But you _are_ going to pierce your ears, Chanyeol!’ He says. “And I’m going to pierce mine too!” Baekhyun adds as he takes one of the kits. “I got us matching ones, see?” 

Baekhyun starts opening one of the kits, and takes the item out to hold it up in front of Chanyeol.

“No way.” Chanyeol says, backing away from the device.

“It won’t hurt as much as you think it would.” Baekhyun says as he pulls Chanyeol’s head closer to him, keeping a steady hold on him. “Relax, okay? I’ll do yours first, then you’ll do mine!”

“How do you know? Your ears aren’t even pierced!” Chanyeol says as he gives up completely anyway, and stays still for Baekhyun to get to work. His eyes close in anticipation of the pain he knows is about to come. 

And with a click, Chanyeol’s entire body stills. 

“WHAT THE FUCK!!” He shouts as he leans away from Baekhyun and covers his ear protectively. “I AM _NOT_ GOING THROUGH THAT AGAIN WITH THE OTHER EAR!!” 

“Oh, come on! I’m sure it’s not that bad…” Baekhyun says as he looks at the device in his hand. 

“Yeah? Would you like to try then?” Chanyeol asks. “Fuck, I feel like my ear is _bleeding!”_

Baekhyun snatches his hand away from his ear to check. “Relax, it’s just red!” He says. “You’re just a big baby. Pierce mine, I’ll be the judge!” 

Chanyeol gladly takes the other piercer that was originally meant for his other ear, and holds it against Baekhyun’s in the same way Baekhyun did with him. 

“Hold still, okay?” He tells Baekhyun. 

He brings it up to position and with a press of a button and another click, Baekhyun is inching away from him. 

The idol stays quiet for a couple of seconds, staring blankly in the distance. He then lets out a deep breath.

“Yeah, let’s just _not_ do that again.” Baekhyun says. “I honestly don’t mind looking like an idiot with one pierced ear.” 

“Me neither.” Chanyeol says.

“Open your other gift now!” Baekhyun says.

Chanyeol nods, bringing the white bag back in front of him and taking the jewellery box out this time. He sets the bag to the side and opens the small box.

It contains a familiar silver bracelet. 

Baekhyun takes it out and asks him to hold his arm out. 

“Now that we’re a couple, we need to be all matchy-matchy. Like those couples in TV dramas.” Baekhyun says. 

Once he’s done closing the clasp, he holds his hands up and pulls the sleeve of his sweater down to show Chanyeol his own matching bracelet. 

“I’ve had this for a while now, so it was pretty hard to track down.” Baekhyun says as he examines his own bracelet. “I know I don’t have a lot of free time to spend with you, but I want you to remember, whenever you look at your wrist, that I’d very much rather be with you when I’m busy with work or anything else.” 

“Shit, that sounded less sappy in my head.” Baekhyun says as he chuckles.

“No, that was perfect.” Chanyeol says, smiling. “This is probably my first time receiving a sentimental gift.” 

“Really?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol nods. “I love it. Thanks, Baekhyun.” He says. “By the way, your birthday is on May 6th, right?” 

“Yeah, why?” Baekhyun asks.

“Just making sure!” Chanyeol says.

He needs to start thinking of gift ideas _and_ saving up immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, so sorry!!! I meant to post it on Friday night but there was a system maintenance and I ended up sleeping and forgetting about it in the morning ಥ_ಥ
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> I'll be in eℓyxion days 1 and 3, so I won't be able to write anything this week or the week after because I'll be dead from the 14+ hour flight back home! 
> 
> So next update: December 6th.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a horrible, horrible person
> 
> Here's 7k words worth of fluff to make it up x.x
> 
> I'M SO SORRYYYYY!!!

“Are you feeling better now?” Jongdae asks as he tosses his friend a new icepack. 

The amount of pain Chanyeol has been in for the past hour and a half had him holding his breath.

He shifts a little and exhales slowly, taking the used icepack away from his crotch, and replacing it with the one that lays on the ground next to him. 

“I don’t know, Jongdae, are you done laughing at my misfortune?” He spits out.

Despite Jongdae’s attempts to muffle it, his laughter comes out loud anyway. “Not my fault you’re clumsy!” 

Chanyeol sighs, tilting his head back to rest it on the couch cushion behind him. 

“If only you’d been considerate enough to clean up after yourself…” Chanyeol says as he sighs.

All he was trying to do was move one of the kitchen island’s high chairs from his bedroom back to the living room, and he ended up bumping into the door frame with one end of the chair, while the other end dug into his crotch.

Then he dropped the chair on his foot. 

The pain has long since turned into a dull ache, so in the very least, he hasn’t severely injured himself.

He has no one to blame but Jongdae for leaving the chair in his room in the first place. And maybe Baekhyun for occupying his thoughts enough to distract him from his own surroundings. 

It’s been about two weeks since his birthday, and he hasn’t seen Baekhyun since spending that entire day with him. He’s heard from him everyday, of course, specifically about how overworked and tired he’s been lately, which ultimately led to the lack of visits. 

Baekhyun’s told him that he’s been getting most of his rest in the car with his manager driving him from one schedule to the other. And those few moments of rest are the only times he’s thankful for the heavy traffic in Seoul’s roads, whereas he hates it the majority of the time. 

But this is about his dream career, he’s told Chanyeol more than once, so he’s happy to do it. And the idol seems to adore his fans so much, it made Chanyeol a bit envious of how much time they got to spend with Baekhyun while he’s stuck in the middle of his Christmas vacation with absolutely nothing to do other than listen to Jongdae continue to whine about how his supervisor wants to continue meeting over the holidays so that they don’t fall behind on the project.

_This is a little unfair…_

He sighs. At least he knows Baekhyun is happy. And although it’s a little lonely without him, he can rest easy knowing the person he likes isn’t going through as hard of a time as he initially imagined. 

And Baekhyun’s album is a hit. That’s mainly the reason why he’s been busier than he had anticipated he would be. 

“You’re still pining over Baekhyun even though you’re together now?” Jongdae asks. 

Chanyeol snaps out of his thoughts at Jongdae’s voice, and looks behind him to find his friend lying on the couch with his laptop resting on his chest. 

He doesn’t reply, he just lets out another sigh and turns back around to face the TV, mindlessly staring at one of the rookie groups performing on stage. He has it on mute, mostly because he can’t stand listening to anything other than Baekhyun these days.

“When’s Baekhyun coming on?” Jongdae asks. 

“He said somewhere near the end. He’s one of the senior artists performing today, I think.” Chanyeol says. “Why don’t we attend one of these music programs?” 

Jongdae let out a snicker. “Do you really think you won’t stand out like a sore thumb in the middle of all those school girls?” He asks. “Besides, you can’t even handle the crowd in a club. What makes you think you’ll be able to withstand being in a sea of fangirls?” 

“Are they that bad?” Chanyeol asks. 

“I’ve heard bad things, especially when the group or artist attracts younger fans.” Jongdae says. “But hey, you never know for sure how things are like unless you’re a part of them, right?” He says. 

“I guess.” Chanyeol says.

“Besides, it’s hard to get into one of these shows anyway. They’re filmed in the morning, and some fans start lining up at like 4 AM.” Jongdae says.

Chanyeol raises a brow. “How do you know all of this?” He asks.

“Ah, that’s because—” Jongdae tries to say. “I have friends other than you, you know~” He ends up saying.

“No need to rub it in my face…” Chanyeol says, rolling his eyes. He focuses back on the TV and watches.

It’s been about an hour since the program started, and there’s been mentions of Baekhyun and his new title track here and there, as well as a short interview with him, but nothing else.

Although once the current stage ended and the next one was being introduced, and the characters of a familiar name pop up at the bottom of the screen, Chanyeol completely forgets about his unfortunate injury and dives forward to the coffee table to get the remote.

He fiddles with it as he catches a glimpse of copper red hair, which has slowly started fading, until he finally un-mutes the TV and turns the volume as high as it could go. 

Jongdae shifts from behind him as well, and Chanyeol hears a soft thud which his brain registers as the sound of his friend’s laptop being closed, but he brings his full attention to the TV ahead of him.

Baekhyun’s stage is simple. 

No fancy props or intense lighting. 

Just Baekhyun in casual clothing, soft eye makeup, and he’s got that comma hairstyle he’s been begging Chanyeol to do recently — and he might consider getting it given how good Baekhyun looks in it. 

He’s sitting behind a white piano placed in the middle of the stage, ready to start playing. 

And with a dramatic zoom-in of the camera on his fingers placed over the piano keys, — God, he misses holding those hands and interlacing those fingers with his — he begins. 

Then the song he’s been so familiar with lately, as it is all he ever listens to these days along with the rest of the songs on Baekhyun’s latest mini album, starts playing.

The audience is quiet after Baekhyun plays; mesmerised as they watch the idol in all his ethereal beauty lean in closer to the microphone atop the piano and starts to sing.

Jongdae and Chanyeol are quiet, too. And they stay that way for the entire four and a half minutes Baekhyun’s on stage. 

Once his performance is over, Chanyeol has nothing to say. He simply grabs the remote once again, and turns the TV off since Baekhyun’s screen time is pretty much done. 

“He really deserves all the fame he’s getting.” Jongdae says as he lies back down on the couch and turns his laptop back on. “And he’s really humble about it. That’s what makes him stand out more as an idol, I think. His talent too, of course!” 

Chanyeol smiles and hums in agreement. This sense of pride of simply knowing Baekhyun personally, and being close to him, washes over him. 

He really wants to support Baekhyun in every way he can. 

A while ago, he preordered a few copies of the album with the money he’s been saving up to buy an expansion pack for his game. And man, was everyone weirded out by his actions, but he didn’t care.

Even Baekhyun scolded him when he found those albums stacked on his desk — he hasn’t found a place for them in his apartment yet — because he didn’t want Chanyeol to spend his money on him. And that day, Baekhyun just so happens to have stopped by to give him a copy — little did he know, Chanyeol had 10.

It still made him happy, though. And it makes Chanyeol want to do so much more.

He’s new to these things, though, so he didn’t know what else he could do. He’s already streaming the entire album all day long, and he’s glad knowing that counts in helping with the sales and whatnot. 

Baekhyun never asked him to do any of these things. He never even asked for his support. Hell, he didn’t even know Chanyeol started listening to his music at one point during the earlier months of their friendship. 

And if that didn’t make Chanyeol proud, — if simply knowing Byun Baekhyun didn’t make Chanyeol feel proud — then he doesn’t know what will.

He may have been a little clingy at first, and he may have gotten a little too comfortable, too fast, but that doesn’t matter much now. They wouldn’t be where they are at the moment if Baekhyun hadn’t been the bold person he is. 

Chanyeol feels as if a part of him has changed after meeting Baekhyun and getting closer to him. He doesn’t know whether it’s a good or bad change yet, and he’s hoping to find out soon.

Leaning his head back to rest it over Jongdae’s arm on the couch, he closes his eyes. 

It’s a little early in the evening, but he hasn’t slept since yesterday, and he can only blame the new Pokémon game. The same game over and over again, just a little more upgraded and in a different setting and slightly different storyline each year, and he’s still fooled into buying it and spending the majority of his time playing it. 

_Still one of the best games made._

He smiles, unbothered by the sound of Jongdae’s fingers furiously hitting his keyboard, as he falls asleep.

——————

When Chanyeol stops in front of the intercom, he harshly pulls his earbuds out and shoves them messily inside his padded jacket’s pocket alongside his phone.

He takes in a deep breath before pressing on the call button and standing still in front of the camera he knows is watching him. He focuses his gaze up on ceiling as he waits for someone to answer him.

And when he finally receives an answer, it’s not from the voice he’s expecting, but it’s still an overly friendly one.

_“Hello?”_

Chanyeol is immediately flustered. “Hello!” He says. “This is… Baekhyun’s apartment, right?” He asks.

_“It is. Who’s asking?”_ The person on the other end says. 

“Park Chanyeol.” He says.

_“Ah… Baekhyun’s asleep right now, but you can come right up. I’ll buzz you in!”_

“N—no, I’ll come back later, I don’t want to be a bother—” Chanyeol tries to say, but is cut off by the sound of the building’s door unlocking.

No other sound comes from the intercom, so he assumes that the person already hung up. Chanyeol hesitates, but marches right up to the door and swings it open enough for him to slip in.

He carefully closes the door behind him and after hearing it lock back up automatically, he takes small strides to the elevator in the reception area of the building. He pushes the button to call one of them down to him.

_Apartment 802 should be on the eighth. So high up…_

Chanyeol’s grip loosens on the handles of the paper bag he’s carrying. He couldn’t come empty handed, so he bought two pieces of the chestnut tart that Baekhyun likes from the café, along with two pieces of one of the other popular desserts. 

A sound signals the elevator’s arrival to the first floor, so steps to the side to allow any occupiers to get off before getting in. And when he sees that it’s empty, he gets in and presses the number eight on the panel next to the door.

He puts the bag down to take off his padded jacket, allowing it to hang from his forearm while he adjusts the collar of the shirt he wore underneath his loose grey sweater. He also runs a hand through his hair to make sure it’s in one piece before meeting whoever it is he’s about to meet.

Baekhyun lives with his manager, so it’s probably him. Chanyeol is thankful he looks a little decent today, though he thinks that maybe he should have styled his hair a little better. 

_Nothing I can do about it now._

He takes in another deep breath as he lifts his gaze up to watch the numbers go up a little too fast for his taste. One of his eyes sting a little, an indication that he probably didn’t put one of his contact lenses on properly, and Chanyeol ends closing his eyes and lightly rubbing his eyelid to attempt to fix that little problem.

When the elevator finally comes to a stop, Chanyeol picks the bag back up and moves to step outside the elevator. 

It doesn’t take him long to navigate his way through the halls in search of apartment 802. He presses the buzzer when he’s standing in front of the door, and waits for Baekhyun’s manager to open it. 

And when he does, Chanyeol stands dumbfounded for a few moments at his appearance. 

_He has models for backup dancers…_

“Hello! Come on in~” The man says with a soft smile as he opens the door wide and steps to the side. “I’m Kim Junmyeon, Baekhyun’s manager.” 

_And an actual prince for a manager._

Chanyeol blinks a few times before nodding and walking in, awkwardly standing to the side of the entrance as he waits for Junmyeon to close and lock the door. 

“Let me get that for you.” Junmyeon adds as he points at Chanyeol’s jacket. “It’s pretty cold outside, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah.” Chanyeol says. He gladly hands it over o him with a polite smile, and watches as Junmyeon opens one of the closets in the entrance hall, and hangs it.

When he’s done, he turns to Chanyeol with a bright smile and goes ahead of him. “Don’t be shy. Come in!” He says.

With a quick nod of his head, Chanyeol starts taking his shoes off, then looks up and offers the bag to Junmyeon, who’s standing there waiting for him.

“It’s cake for you and Baekhyun.” Chanyeol says, trying his best not to let his slight discomfort at meeting someone for the first time show in the smile he flashes the manager.

Who, by the way, seems a little nervous about this as well, for some reason. Or maybe he just isn’t the talkative type. Chanyeol himself isn’t talkative, not unless he properly got to know the person first. 

So this is probably not going to go as well as he thought it would.

Junmyeon accepts the bag and bows. “Thank you!” He says.

Chanyeol continues smiling and follows him further inside, passing through a hallway with a couple of doors he assumes to be their bedrooms and bathrooms. 

He leads Chanyeol to the living room. 

“Please make yourself comfortable.” Junmyeon says, gesturing to the couch. “I’ll go get plates for these.” He says as he lifts the bag in his hand. “Would you like something to drink, by the way?” He asks.

Chanyeol gives a slight shake of his head. “No thank you,” He says. “I’m fine.” 

Junmyeon nods before heading off to the kitchen, which is separated from the living room area. 

He’s left alone there, where he takes in a deep breath and lets it out before hesitantly sitting down on the couch. 

The apartment itself is not as bad as Baekhyun described it to be. Jongdae’s told him of how some idol groups of five or six would sometimes share a single room in a tiny apartment, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Baekhyun. 

And it puts Chanyeol at ease, knowing his boyfriend seems to be living comfortably, and _not_ in an overcrowded apartment. 

Baekhyun’s always complained to him about how messy his manager was, though. The apartment seems to be in perfect condition. 

_Maybe Baekhyun forced him to clean up before my arrival._

Chanyeol smiles at the thought. 

Speaking of the idol, Chanyeol is still in disbelief that he would sleep and leave him to interact with Junmyeon alone, knowing very well how uncomfortable this would make him. 

Then again, if Baekhyun was tired enough to miss out on seeing him for the first time in almost three weeks now, Chanyeol won’t hold it against him.

If he could right now, he would burst in his room and just lay in bed next to him. 

It’s been a little over a month since their confession; since they’ve been together. And aside from the matching jewellery and rather graphic matching T-shirts Baekhyun got him, they haven’t done any of the things he read couples are supposed to do. Chanyeol isn’t even sure if those things count. They’re just items to declare to the world that you’re in a relationship. 

Chanyeol’s looking forward to go out on dates with Baekhyun, sure. He loves everything he’s gotten him, of course. And as sappy as Baekhyun’s words about the bracelet were, it did its job in constantly reminding Chanyeol that Baekhyun is probably thinking about him too. 

In all honesty, though, he just wants to spend more time with Baekhyun. He feels like it would be selfish of him to even ask, though, since Baekhyun is so busy doing something he loves. And Chanyeol is just wasting away at his apartment doing nothing productive with his time, all the while missing the idol and following his schedule occasionally whenever his gaming sessions with Yixing and Jongdae were over. 

It makes him regret not realising his feelings for Baekhyun earlier. Because all those times Baekhyun was practically jobless during were spent in either Chanyeol’s apartment at night, or the café he works at during the morning. Chanyeol could have had him for himself all that time. 

But of course, with his terrible luck, he chose the month of Baekhyun’s comeback, of all months of the year, to start dating him. 

Chanyeol’s completely lost in his own thoughts about Baekhyun, that he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching him from behind. Not until a pair of arms wrap around his neck and pull him to the back of the couch. 

And then a kiss is placed at the side of his head, just near his right ear. 

“Missed me?” 

Baekhyun’s soft whisper sends goosebumps all around his body, and causes him to close his eyes as his entire body goes stiff. 

“Sorry I took long— Baekhyun!” Junmyeon says, and Chanyeol’s eyes are suddenly wide opened.

Does Junmyeon know about their relationship? Jongdae’s told Chanyeol that Baekhyun isn’t even allowed to be in relationships in the first place — would he even catch on to what’s going on between them in the first place?

For all Junmyeon knows, Baekhyun’s just being overly friendly, right? 

But when Baekhyun’s warmth is suddenly no longer engulfing him, he finds his answer. 

“Hyung— you’re still here?” Baekhyun asks as he slowly moves to the front, and takes a seat on the other end of the couch Chanyeol occupies. 

Aside from the night they spent together before his birthday, he’s never seen Baekhyun fresh out of bed before. He still looks a little tired. 

Junmyeon chuckles. “Couldn’t leave our guest here alone while you rested.” He says as he sets the plated cakes on the coffee table along with some utensils. 

Chanyeol looks back at Baekhyun and watches as he runs a hand through his hair. Still looking so soft, even after dyeing the faded colour red once more. 

“I thought your meeting's starting soon, though.” Baekhyun says.

“It’s been rescheduled to five instead of four, so I have a few more minutes until I need to leave.” Junmyeon says as he sits on the couch opposite to theirs, crossing his legs, and looking at them both with a kind and knowing smile. “I just wanted to meet Chanyeol and make sure he’s comfortable as you slept. I would have woken you up, but you know how you get.” 

It’s Chanyeol’s turn to laugh, recalling the time he and Jongdae tried waking Baekhyun up from his nap. 

“What’s so funny, Chanyeollie?” Baekhyun asks, a playful and curious smile on his lips. 

“I remembered the video Jongdae took of you.” Chanyeol says, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth as he looks down and tries to control his laughter.

“What video?” Junmyeon asks.

Baekhyun chuckles. “It’s just a video of me napping and them trying to wake me up.” He says.

Junmyeon’s smile never falls, but he clearly doesn’t look as amused anymore. So Chanyeol takes in a breath and tries to compose himself. He sits up straight and clears his throat after his laughter died down. 

As soon as he does, though, Junmyeon visibly relaxes, and in a moment, a more sincere smile is back on his face. 

“I see.” Junmyeon says. “Anyway Chanyeol, it’s really nice to finally meet you. Baekhyun here’s told me so much about you.”

Chanyeol looks up at Junmyeon and smiles. “It’s nice to meet you too. Baekhyun’s also told me a lot about you. I think he’s told me too much at times…” He says, trailing off the last part.

Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. He turns to look at Baekhyun, who is looking at him with raised brows and a _‘you shouldn’t have said that’_ glare.

Despite what he thought, though, Junmyeon chuckles. 

“I know. He tends to overshare sometimes, but that just means he’s comfortable with you. I hope he wasn’t too specific with the details of whatever stories he’s told you!” Junmyeon says.

Chanyeol looks up in thought. “He doesn’t leave out the details, but he doesn’t skip them entirely either!” He says. “Besides, I didn’t really pay attention to everything he said before because he’d usually sit behind me and talk _at_ me when I’m busy.” He says.

“Sorry about that. I hope he didn’t bother you too much during those few vacation months he had.” Junmyeon says. 

“Not really, I actually enjoyed his company!” Chanyeol says.

Then he’s suddenly very aware of the fact that Baekhyun is sitting right next to him, and is able to clearly hear every word coming out of his mouth. And it makes him so flustered, he sucks in his lips and looks down, unsure if he should say anything more. 

“First of all, why are you two talking about me like I’m not even here?” Baekhyun asks. “Second, Chanyeol, are you _embarrassed?”_

Chanyeol looks up and glances at Baekhyun’s direction. “What makes you think that? I’m not.” He says.

Baekhyun doesn’t respond to him, and they both stay like that for a few seconds until Junmyeon clears his throat and stands up.

“I can see you two have some things to work out, so I better go now.” He says. “I’ll be back later tonight, but if either of you need anything, please let me know.” 

“Okay~” Baekhyun says.

Chanyeol stands up and bows to Junmyeon “It was nice meeting you, I hope to get to know you more next time!” He says. 

“I hope so too!” Junmyeon says. “Have fun, you two.” He adds as he makes his way down the hall and to the door.

Chanyeol sits back down, facing Baekhyun this time, and waits until he hears the door open.

And when the sound of it shutting reaches them, they both lean in at the same time, and Chanyeol quickly tilts his head to the side to make sure their noses and foreheads don’t collide as their lips met.

_It’s been long._

Too long, it seems, as Baekhyun starts leaning in and out for short kisses, breath hot and heavy against Chanyeol’s lips in between. 

Baekhyun’s hands find their way to the back of Chanyeol’s head, and his fingers get tangled in Chanyeol’s hair.

“Too much…” Chanyeol mumbles as he starts trailing kisses down to Baekhyun’s chin, and all the way to his neck.

“What?” Baekhyun asks, leaning his head back and away from Chanyeol to give him more access. One of his hands end up moving to the top of Chanyeol’s head, too.

Chanyeol realises he wasn’t clear enough with his words.

“From earlier. I missed you too much, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol says.

And although he doesn’t see it, Baekhyun smiles.

——————

_“So let me get this straight.”_ Jongdae says.

It’s one of those blissful days in which Jongdae has decided that he’s seen Chanyeol’s face enough for the entire week.

So they were currently on a video call with Yixing, who has gone very quiet since this conversation started, but only probably because he was trying to make sense of what they were talking about in their own language. And Chanyeol only knows that from the way Yixing has his face practically shoved in the his laptop’s camera, along with the way his brow are knotted.

_“You two—”_

“Yeah.” Chanyeol says.

_“On the couc—”_

“Mhmm.” 

_“And his manager just—”_

Chanyeol nods once. “He did.” He says.

_“Wow.”_ Jongdae says eventually.

He takes a few seconds to wonder why he’s sharing this much.

It’s been a few days since then, and Baekhyun’s already back to his busy schedule now. It’s hard enough not seeing him as often, but he’s even been a bit too busy to reply his texts as quickly as he usually does. 

Chanyeol sighs softly, and brings his arms up to rest on the surface of his desk, folding them up and burying his head in them. 

_“What was Chanyeol talking about?”_ Yixing finally asks. 

_“He and Baekhyun had sex on the couch in his place, then fell asleep there, and Baekhyun’s manager walked in on them with barely any clothes on.”_ Jongdae answers, suddenly very fluent in English.

He must have translated all of this and waited very patiently for Yixing to ask.

_“Oh.”_ Yixing says. _“This is nothing. Why does he seem stressed about it?”_

“Because it’s embarrassing!” Chanyeol says as he lifts his head up and rests his chin on his arms instead. “I’d only just met his manager and he’s already seen me…” He stops to think. “I wouldn’t say _naked_ because we were wrapped in a blanket and Baekhyun’s body was sorta on top of mi—”

_“Stop talking, Chanyeol! You’ve already overshared, oh my God.”_ Jongdae says. _“Now I have the image imprinted in my mind for life. I’M SCARRED!”_

Yixing chuckles. _“Let him talk, Jongdae-ya.”_

_“Hey, you finally learned the difference between -ya and -ah!”_ Jongdae says. _“Sorry for never correcting you. The way you say it is just so cute~!”_ He chuckles.

_“Funny.”_ Yixing says, shooting the camera a smile that’s nowhere near reaching his eyes. 

Chanyeol shakes his head. 

_“So what’s the problem, Chanyeol-ah?”_ Yixing asks. 

_“Can’t you see? He’s suffering from a severe lack of Byun Baekhyun.”_ Jongdae says. _“I caught him watching Baekhyun’s old interviews, live performances, and music videos last night. He had his laptop hooked up to the TV and everything.”_

It takes him a moment to comprehend, but eventually, Yixing responds. _“This isn’t healthy.”_ He says. 

_“Right? And he keeps looking at his phone every damn minute to check if Baekhyun’s talked to him yet.”_ Jongdae adds. 

Chanyeol sighs and lays his head back down. He’s more aware of that than anyone.

Three days since then, and he finds himself missing Baekhyun too much. More than usual, in fact, which he would have never thought was possible until the moment he got back home from Baekhyun’s apartment.

When Junmyeon had walked in on them, they had both just woken up from the nap they took after they’ve both had… ‘ _enough.’_ It didn’t seem like he saw anything, because he switched on the lights, and cleared his throat upon taking notice of their presence, then apologised and left them alone.

Chanyeol doesn’t think he can ever look him in the eyes again after that. 

But this isn’t the only thing on his mind right now. 

Lying on the couch like that with Baekhyun made him very conscious of the changes in his life over the past few months. Specifically, since he’s met Baekhyun.

He went from spending months in solitude; being able to go through weeks without seeing anyone other than his coworkers and Jongdae, — rarely — to being overwhelmed by loneliness the moment he walked back into an empty apartment.

From spending _all_ of his free time for the past seven or eight years gaming, to suddenly feeling the need to go out, to socialise and connect with others — maybe not others, but just Baekhyun. 

Chanyeol barely remembers what it was like spending all of his time in front of a computer anymore. He still games, of course, he didn’t put in all the hard work and dedication to his in-game character’s achievements for nothing. He still enjoys it. 

Sure, he’s had his fun over the years. He doesn’t regret spending all his time in his room as a teenager _and_ as a young adult. He couldn’t think of a moment in which he wasn’t happy doing this. It’s just that he suddenly feels like he’s also been missing out on a lot in other aspects of life.

_Who knew being in a relationship would feel_ this _good?_

The only bad thing about it is that with Baekhyun being an idol _and_ currently promoting his latest album, he doesn’t get to see him as much. And most of the time, he doesn’t know when he would be able to see the idol again. Because if Baekhyun wasn’t working these days, he would spend the time sleeping. And of course, Chanyeol would rather Baekhyun rest than come see him.

He sighs and looks back up at the screen, seeing both Yixing and Jongdae occupied with their phones held up in front of their faces.

“Guys, I think I’m gonna go to bed.” Chanyeol says as he scratches his head and takes a quick glance at his own phone, which is placed at the side of his desk.

It’s pretty late now — it’s dawn actually, and he has no doubt Baekhyun’s already fast asleep somewhere. He waited this late hoping for a phone call or a message, but nothing came.

_Must’ve been very tired._

_“Call me if you need anything, Chanyeol-ah.”_ Yixing says. _“Sleep well!”_

_“You know where to find me, giant pup.”_ Jongdae says. _“Good night!”_

Chanyeol flashes them a smile and nods. “Thank you both. Night~” He says as he ends the call.

He immediately quits the app, and shuts down his computer. He pushes his chair back and stands up, grabbing his phone with him and heading to bed.

Very few nights have been spent without Baekhyun’s voice lulling him to sleep since that one night, and although it still didn’t feel right to fall asleep when he hasn’t heard from Baekhyun all day, he eventually does.

He can’t say he would be able to do this more often, though.

——————

It’s been almost _12 hours._

This is probably the most difficult one he’s ever gone through yet.

Chanyeol’s been laser focused in on this. He’s taken it upon himself to challenge himself more, and it’s really helped serve as the best distraction from not being able to see Baekhyun at all.

It’s as if he was never in a relationship to begin with. 

Whenever he was playing so seriously like this, he would completely forget about his surroundings and his worries, and it really helped make the days he’s been spending without Baekhyun pass by faster. And before he knew it, two whole weeks have passed once more.

He’s spent whatever time he could spare talking to Baekhyun over the phone, of course, but other than that, he’s been very busy with these raids.

The new expansion pack promises a whole new world, and Chanyeol was determined to unlock it. 

So he’s been going on what’s known as monster killing raids with the rest of his guild. There have been a lot of close calls, but they’ve survived them all, and it seems as if nothing can get in their way right now.

Both Yixing and himself have actually taken some time off work for this. Jongdae, being jobless, only had to lie to his supervisor about being too sick to make it to the meetings. 

And this is how they decided to spend their Christmas vacation and end of the year. A part of Chanyeol thinks that there may have been a better way for him to spend his Christmas other than drinking and eating with Jongdae until they both passed out, but it was fine. 

Baekhyun’s finishing up with his end of the year schedules, and he should be free to see him sometime soon. Chanyeol isn’t sure when that’ll be exactly, because he’s been on his computer for the past 12 hours. 

His fingers are starting to get sore, and his wrists and back are in so much pain, but he had to fight through this. He got into this raid knowing it might take way over 12 hours to complete, but that’s besides the point. 

He needs to stay focused. He can’t risk making the smallest mistake right now, especially since the AI adapts to how good the player is, and it’s getting more impossible to win these if it wasn’t for the help of the 20 people in his guild. 

Chanyeol’s used up all the skill points he’s been saving up on a better armour. So he really believes they have a shot at opening up this new world by the end of the day at the rate they’re playing.

And it all seems so perfect at the moment.

He has his headphones off, as he could no longer bear hearing the voices of more than his usual companions in the voice chat, screaming, shouting, and cursing. He’s so focused right now.

Until he hears the sound of his door unlock, open, close, and the sound of shoes being kicked off. He’s suddenly aware of his surroundings after tuning them out for 12 whole hours. 

Chanyeol knows it’s not Jongdae, because he can clearly hear him outshout everyone else in the chat through his abandoned headphones. And he knows the only other person who has his keys is Baekhyun, whom he hasn’t seen in over two weeks. 

But he stays focused. He’s so tempted to log out and jump into Baekhyun’s arms, but he needs to see this through. He can’t back out now, not after spending half a day on this. 

He tries to ignore the footsteps that have made their way into his bedroom, and the soft sound of his bed creaking as Baekhyun took a seat there.

Chanyeol tries to ignore how quiet Baekhyun is, despite how he’d usually announce his arrival to the whole neighbourhood, and do his best to bother him while he’s playing. 

_Stay focused._

He takes in a deep breath, and tries to focus less on the overwhelming presence that he’s longed for behind him, and more on the sounds of his teammates occasionally shouting in victory at slaying yet another monster.

But then he hears movement from behind him, and sounds of Baekhyun’s footsteps again. Approaching his direction, no less. 

He completely stiffens, and waits for Baekhyun to say something. Anything.

For a moment, he thought of the possibility of this not even being Baekhyun at all, and instead just someone there to kill him or something. Or maybe it was a ghost. He feels so tempted to turn around and see for himself, but he knows it’s just Baekhyun. 

_Just_ Baekhyun? It’s not _just_ Baekhyun. It’s _Baekhyun_. He’s _here._

Chanyeol wants to turn around. He’s just not sure how willing he would be to sacrifice all his years of hard work so easily. This is a _very_ crucial raid, after all. 

So he doesn’t turn around. 

But he does freeze completely when Baekhyun rests both of his arms on either of his shoulders, and starts to kiss and suck the spot just behind his right ear.

Chanyeol’s eyes drift shut, and he tilts his head just a little to the left to allow more access for Baekhyun to do with him as he pleases. 

He gets lost in it. He doesn’t know if it’s Baekhyun’s beautiful hand ghosting over his chest — when did he slip it under his sweater, anyway? — or whether it was the fact that Baekhyun was nibbling on the tip of his ear now that’s driving him more crazy. He just knows he _is_ going crazy because of these touches, and that’s enough for him.

_“CHANYEOL WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?”_

His eyes snap open and he straightens up, and when he’s met with his screen once more, his breath hitches. 

“What…?” He whispers.

_Defeat._

In big, bold, red letters. 

All seven or eight years of his hard work _gone_. Just like that.

He’s read many times that the chances of dying once you’ve levelled up your character to the max are little to non-existent, especially when you’re wearing a tough armour. So how did this happen?

This is it. His character, the one he’s spent thousands upon thousands of _hours_ levelling up, gone.

His shoulders drop completely and he hears a short gasp from behind him.

“CHANYEOLLIE, I’M SO SORRY!” Baekhyun shouts. “I didn’t mean to distract you but I really missed you and I couldn’t resist!!” 

He doesn’t have anything to say. Not that he could’ve said anything anyway. He suddenly feels so _drained._

Chanyeol logs out of the game and chat, and quits all opened apps on his computer. He shuts it down and drops his hand down to rest on his lap.

“I think I need to be alone for a while.” Chanyeol says.

“What?” Baekhyun asks. “Come on, I said I was sorry! And I haven’t seen you in so long, can’t you just log in and continue playing later?” 

“I don’t think you understand, Baekhyun. My character, and the progress I’ve built since middle school is all _gone.”_ He says.

Chanyeol isn’t thinking straight right now. He needs a little time to register what just happened. 

He’s going to have to start all over again. What’s it going to be this time? Another five years before he reaches the level he was _just_ in? And it was supposedly _impossible_ to lose in that armour. 

All because he lost focus for a couple of seconds. 

“You know you can have my old account if it hasn’t already been deleted.” Baekhyun says. “There, problem solved. So can you please just look at me, at least?” 

Chanyeol sighs. This shouldn’t be as big of a deal as he’s making it out to be, should it? Would it feel the same if he used someone else’s account? Someone else’s progress? 

With a movement of his bare feet against the ground, he turns his chair around and faces Baekhyun with a slight pout of his lips that he couldn’t hide. 

The idol looks exactly the same, aside from his hair. He dyed it back to black again, and he’s never looked as mesmerising in his natural hair colour as he does at this exact moment. 

_Just lost my account entirely and all I can think about is how good he looks in black hair… What happened to me?_

Chanyeol thought he would be more upset about this, and he’s a little worried about how easy he’s taking all of this.

Before, he had nothing else going in his life. No strong passion towards anything other than this game, but now he has something else. He has Baekhyun. He feels like his reaction would’ve been way different and _worse_ if it wasn’t for that fact. 

“Don’t look at me like that… I’m so sorry, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says as he sits on his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck and giving him a peck on the cheek. “Everything will be okay!” He says.

“No it won’t.” Chanyeol says.

“What makes you think that?” Baekhyun asks.

“I won’t have something to keep me distracted from missing you while you’re away anymore.” Chanyeol answers.

Baekhyun seems taken aback for a second but he chuckles. 

“Well I’m almost done with my promotions, so you’ll have a harder time getting rid of me from now on.” Baekhyun says.

“I just—” Chanyeol tries to say but Baekhyun cuts him off. 

“What?” He asks. “What is it, really?” 

“I can’t do this all over again, it’ll take so long to get back on top!” Chanyeol says.

“Then quit.” Baekhyun says.

_What?_

Chanyeol frowns. “Baekhyun, for as long as I can remember, I’ve never lived without an obsession. How can you just tell me to quit?” 

“You don’t need anything to obsess over, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says.

“Yes, I do. Either give me something new to get addicted to, or try to remember your account details. And you better be at a level over 90 or so help me.” 

“I can assure you I was nowhere near level 50, let alone level 90.” Baekhyun says as he snickers. 

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol whines. “Then give me something new to obsess over!”

“Like what?” Baekhyun asks. “Oh! You can obsess over me~!” 

Chanyeol looks up in thought. 

In all his free time over the holidays, he’s spent a lot of time snooping around on the internet and finding out what kind of things Baekhyun’s fanbases are up to. They clearly dedicate a lot of time in following Baekhyun’s schedule and keeping up with him in general, and Baekhyun seems to shower them with new content pretty regularly.

Would it be good for him to spend his time being Baekhyun’s fan _while_ he’s missing him? Or would it make him miss Baekhyun more? Would it even be healthy for their relationship?

This is clearly not going anywhere.

“Email me your weekly schedule to make my life easier, and teach me how to sign up to your official fan club.” Chanyeol says.

“I was kidding.” Baekhyun says.

“I’m not.” Chanyeol responds. “What else is there for me to do? Work, university, that’s it? My life’ll be boring that way!” 

Baekhyun sighs. “Fine, do what you want, but please don’t spend your money on me, okay?” He says. 

“Whatever you say~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WON'T MAKE ANY MORE PROMISES I CAN'T KEEP SO
> 
> Next update will be sometime within the next 10 days, before the winter album releases! The longer I take, the longer the chapter will be >~<
> 
> Again, so sorry!!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI!!! 
> 
> A lot of things have happened since I've last updated T~T terrible writer's block!! 
> 
> BUT HERE IT IS! And it's longer than the usual updates, like I promised (not within the promised time, but still lol) 
> 
> SO SORRY FOR THE LONG LONG DELAY!

“Chanyeol.”

This week, Baekhyun learned something new about Chanyeol.

He learned of Chanyeol’s stages of grief.

Disbelief was first, when Chanyeol first laid eyes on the words printed on his computer screen as he was defeated in-game. Then come the denial of the entire situation, which Baekhyun had thought was just him quickly accepting what happened and moving on.

Withdrawal was next. He refused to speak to Baekhyun for two days for distracting him and making him lose, only to contact him for his account’s long-in information with new resolve.

And today, he would be learning of the next stage. But as of this moment, he’s busy trying to catch Chanyeol’s attention in the first place as he refuses to move from the swivel chair he’s been sitting on for the past 26 hours, attempting to win back his achievements.

Baekhyun sighs. He’s been awake for about an hour with his head resting against the bed’s headboard while watching the back of Chanyeol’s head. He hasn’t even glanced in his direction since Baekhyun walked in his apartment yesterday. And he also looks like he hasn’t moved an inch since way before then.

The idol has to wonder if Chanyeol has had anything to eat, but it doesn’t seem like it since his surroundings were free of any wrapping paper of empty cups of instant noodles, like they were before Baekhyun cleaned up. 

It doesn’t seem like he’s gone to the bathroom either. And Baekhyun can see him swaying from side to side, clearly holding in whatever it is he needed to do.

“Park Chanyeol,” Baekhyun tried again.

_You better not be ignoring me…_

He could hear the sound effects from the game coming out of the headphones Chanyeol has on quite clearly, so it means that he just couldn’t hear him.

Baekhyun thinks it looks safe enough to approach him right now, because the aura around him seems much more calm than it had when he first walked in, in which Chanyeol was glued to his screen. He looks relaxed enough to be leaning against the back of his chair, and he would be, if he didn’t seem like he needed to relieve himself as soon as possible.

So Baekhyun sits up, gets on all fours, and crawls towards the edge of the bed, where he is close enough to reach out to Chanyeol.

He sits up on his knees and leans his upper body out of the bed as far as he could, aiming to pull the headphones away from Chanyeol’s ears, just enough to get his attention and hopefully get him to take a break.

When he finally got a hold of both sides, he feels himself losing his balance, so he holds on to the back of Chanyeol’s chair and falls face first into the back of it, hanging on to it for dear life.

Chanyeol is startled, but all he does is look back at the idol with his brows raised, and turns back to his game.

He seems to have only paused it, because he suddenly takes his headphones off and he turns back around to Baekhyun with an amused glint in his eyes that has the idol dreading his situation.

“Aren’t you planning on giving me a hand?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol hums. “Should I?” He asks. “You’re distracting me again~” 

“I’m not! I’m just worried about you!” Baekhyun says, and he feels himself losing his grip. “You’re not eating or sleeping well and you look like you’re about to piss your—”

Before he could lose his grip completely and fall, Chanyeol reaches out from behind the back of the chair and easily holds him up with a strong grip on his upper arms. 

“You can put your legs down, I got you.” Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun sighs, relaxing his body and slowly bringing his knees down to the ground in-between the bed and the chair. Chanyeol legs go of his arms, and he brings them to his side as he settles on the floor.

“You good now?” Chanyeol asks

The idol nods and shoots his boyfriend a smile. 

“Good. Now leave me alone because if I don’t get my ranking back, I’m nothing.” He says as he turns back to the computer screen and grabs his headphones.

Before he could put them back on, Baekhyun quickly gets up and snatches them away from Chanyeol’s hands. 

“Not so fast!” Baekhyun says. “First of all, stop saying that. You keep talking like this game is all you have, but I promise you, it’s not. Let’s eat together, please?”

Chanyeol glances back at his screen for a split second, then looks back at Baekhyun, hesitation clear on his face. “I’m _really_ busy right now Baekhyun, I don’t have time to sit down for a meal…” He says, completely ignoring the first part of what Baekhyun said. 

Baekhyun sighs. “I don’t see you often as it is, can I at least sit on your lap and snuggle up against you while you play?”

“But that’s exactly how everything went downhill last time!” Chanyeol cries out. “You ended it! My years of hard work, all my sleepless nights, all those tests I failed at school, you ruined everything with your stupid indulging touches and—” He stops and took a deep breath. “I’m not letting you get in the way again!” 

_He’s so dramatic…_

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “How is it my fault that you find me irresistible?” He asks. “Anyway, get up. You really need to eat something and get some sleep after. You’ve done enough for the week, don’t you think?” He says as he looks at the screen. “What level did you start on?” 

Chanyeol looks down, and he seems to be pouting. “Level 17.” He mutters. 

And the screen read ‘ _Level 22.’_

_Yeah, he’s not getting up unless I make a convincing argument._

“At this rate, it’ll probably take me a while to regain my old stats.” Chanyeol says. “Doesn’t matter! I have more experience now than when I first started playing years ago, and I was able to go up five levels in only three days. If I continue at the same pace, I’ll get back to level 110 in just under two months!”

“And all it would take is for you not to sleep, eat, shower, or even empty your bladder properly for the next two months!” Baekhyun says. “Chanyeol, don’t you think that it was a sign that you lost in the first place? For you to finally move on from this somewhat unhealthy obsession and find something else to invest in? You were excited about that just last week!”

Chanyeol just furiously shakes his head. “I told you this is all I have!” 

Baekhyun bites down on his bottom lip. Chanyeol’s bright enough to know that it would be for the best to take it slow with the game or stop altogether. He’s done enough, hasn’t he? And to go through all of it again would be a complete waste of time for all Baekhyun knows. 

Why didn’t he have a backup account if he’s _this_ obsessed with the game, anyway? He also would’ve been more careful when creating his account in the first place if he didn’t want to lose it someday.

_Unless…_

“You expected this would happen someday, right?” Baekhyun asks. 

Chanyeol frowns. “Of course.” He says. 

“Since you don’t have any backups, what did you originally plan on doing when it happened? I’m sure you were prepared, knowing you~” Baekhyun says as he places both his hands on the armrests of Chanyeol’s chair and leans towards him.

Chanyeol lowers his head and glances up at Baekhyun. “I did have a plan.” He mutters.

Baekhyun hums. “Aren’t you going to enlighten me?” He asks.

The other looks away from the idol, and settles his eyes on the paused game on his computer screen instead. “I thought I’d have outgrown my— a _ddiction_ by this age…” 

“And what did you imagine yourself focused on instead?” Baekhyun asked, his voice low and husky as he kept slowly closing the distance between them. 

“Not having a boyfriend, that’s for sure.” Chanyeol says as he snickers and sits up, causing Baekhyun to straighten back up.

The idol rolls his eyes. “I’m serious, Yeol!” He says.

“So am I!” Chanyeol says. “I thought I would be more focused on uni now. I also thought I’d stop being an introvert once I’ve graduated from high school, but as you can see… I swear, it’s a miracle you got close with me in the first place!” 

Baekhyun chuckles. “What can I say? I’m persuasive~” He says as he sits down on the edge of the bed and leans back. 

With the use of his legs, Chanyeol spins the chair to a degree enough to face Baekhyun as he responds. 

“I’d say you were more charming than persuasive.” Chanyeol says as he smirks. 

Baekhyun almost chokes on air and his smile falls off his face completely. “You think I’m charming?” He asks.

Chanyeol simply nods as he takes off his glasses and attempts to clean off the lenses using the hem of his oversized sweater. 

_Would this guy believe me if I said he was the charming one?_

The idol quietly watches Chanyeol checking his glasses for stains before putting them back on.

_He would never._

“Hey, didn’t you say you had a schedule in the afternoon?” Chanyeol asks. 

“If you think you’re getting rid of me that easily, you’re wrong. I still have about an hour to nag you to get off your ass and wash up or something.” Baekhyun says. 

Chanyeol looks up and hums in consideration. “Okay. On one condition, though.” He says.

“Name it.” Baekhyun says.

“That you get in there with me.” 

——————

Baekhyun was only away for four days.

_Four days_ was all it took for Chanyeol to become like this _._

Right before he left for his schedule at that time, he made sure Chanyeol ate after they showered, and he watched him go to bed. And when he had returned briefly later that night, he found Chanyeol already up and going, and couldn’t get his attention as he had been rather determined to make more progress in-game before he starts classes again. So Baekhyun let him be.

After not talking to him over the course of the days, thinking that he would only be a distraction again for Chanyeol and his gaming sessions, he visits again to _this._

Baekhyun walks in to Chanyeol, not with his ass glued to his swivel chair in front of his desktop, but to Chanyeol spaced out on his bed with his unblinking eyes at his monitor as the game’s soundtrack plays softly through his still-connected, but abandoned headphones.

He looks utterly defeated. Like he has absolutely no faith left in this cruel world. 

_Man… This is too much, isn’t it?_

The idol feels terrible. He’s never seen Chanyeol look so lost before, and he’s the one to blame, isn’t he? It was funny at the time, because Chanyeol didn’t look too bothered by it, but it seems like it’s the end of the world for him right now. 

Baekhyun didn’t know what to make of this. He’s never met anyone like Chanyeol before, so he doesn’t know whether this is normal behaviour or not. 

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun finally says as he takes slow steps to the other’s bed. “Is everything okay? Why aren’t you playing?” He asks.

Baekhyun watches Chanyeol’s chest rise and fall steadily as he takes a deep breath and lets it out. It’s as if he’s a ticking bomb.

“What’s the point?” Chanyeol says. “I’ve already been abandoned by my own guild and my stats haven’t gone up at all in the past couple of days. I might as well quit while I still have my dignity, right?” 

Feeling a little brave, the idol moves to sit next to Chanyeol in bed. The lack of reaction at thatmakes Baekhyun slowly wrap his arms around Chanyeol’s waist, and bury his head against his chest.

“Why the sudden change?” Baekhyun asks. He feels one of Chanyeol’s arm drape over his shoulders and he pulls him closer, then rests his palm on top of Baekhyun’s head. 

Baekhyun relaxes into the touch and his lips curve up slightly. It doesn’t look like Chanyeol actually blames him for what happened, and that much is good, at least. 

“Why not?” Chanyeol asks. “I really haven’t made much progress even though I practically haven’t stopped playing for two weeks now.” 

“That’s enough reason for you to quit?” Baekhyun says. “If it really was then you would’ve quit just as easily when you first started playing all those years ago. At least you didn’t start from scratch this time, and you already know the game by heart.” He adds. “I’m sure you can make it back to the top easily.”

“It’s still taking too long. I’m missing out on all the fun of being maxed out.” Chanyeol says.

_He’s really given up this time._

“Look, I’ll support you either way. Whether you want to quit playing so competitively, whether you’re going to continue playing but take it easy, or whether you want to quit completely. But if you’re just gonna quit because you’re too impatient with yourself and your progress, then…” Baekhyun says, sighing. “I don’t know. I didn’t take you for a quitter, Chanyeol.” 

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything in response, and Baekhyun would’ve been content just listening to the steady sound of Chanyeol’s heartbeat if he didn’t know how much his boyfriend is upset by this.

And then Chanyeol lets out a sigh, so Baekhyun continues. 

“Hey, you were so determined a couple of days ago.” He says. “Is it because I’m here? Do you want me to leave so you can play?” 

Chanyeol suddenly ruffles his hair gently. “Did I say I didn’t want you here?” He asks. “Don’t leave.”

_Weird._

Whenever it involved his gaming, — at least at the beginning of their friendship — Chanyeol was always ready to tell Baekhyun to leave or that Baekhyun’s presence wouldn’t be much of a difference for him as long as he didn’t talk to him or come near him. And most of the time, he would just ignore him completely.

Of course, Baekhyun was never hurt by those words or actions, nor did they bother him because he knows how important this — the game is for Chanyeol. And he knows Chanyeol never said that to him with malicious intent, so Baekhyun would just go along with it. 

Baekhyun isn’t sure why this is, but sometimes it feels like there’s a deeper meaning behind Chanyeol always drowning himself in his addiction — as if it serves as some kind of distraction for something. And other times he thinks maybe Chanyeol’s just so bored with his life, that he needs to do this.

As of recently, though, — before his loss, at least — Baekhyun’s noticed that his gaming sessions are occurring less often. He’s also starting to lead a more regular life. Not completely, but just to the slightest degree.

This also wasn’t the first time Chanyeol’s asked Baekhyun not to leave. He’s been saying it a lot nowadays, especially whenever Baekhyun could only stay for a short time due to a schedule. And after that, he doesn’t even wait until Baekhyun is out of his room to go straight back to the game.

One thing that’s never happened though, is Chanyeol asking him to stay when he was clearly busy with the game. Like he is now — or like he’s _supposed_ to be right now.

Baekhyun looks up at Chanyeol. “You sure?” He asks. 

“I’m sure.” Chanyeol says.

The idol hesitates for a second before asking. “Can we do something together, then? To help get your mind off this.”

“Like what?” Chanyeol asks. “Oh, do you want me to cook you a nice meal? I can—”

“No, you shouldn’t tire yourself out. Why don’t we go out for dinner instead?” Baekhyun suggests.

“But aren’t you worried about people seeing us together?” Chanyeol says. 

“Why would I be?” Baekhyun asks. “Wait, do you really think I’m famous enough not to be able to go out like a normal person?” 

“Then explain what happened at the café that time!” Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun looks up in thought. Which time is he speaking of?

_Probably the first time I invited myself to his apartment…_

He snickers. “There were like four of my precious fans back then. And they were only there because they heard I went to the café frequently!” 

“And you’re telling me now that it wasn’t as big of a problem as you made it seem when you came up to me in the backroom and asked me to help you _escape.”_ Chanyeol says, sighing again. “Why are you like this?”

Baekhyun chuckles. “I really liked you!” He says. 

Chanyeol ruffles his hair roughly this time. “Stop being embarrassing!” He says. 

“I’m serious!” Baekhyun says. “Anyway, we’ll drive around after dinner and just listen to music, is that okay?” 

“Drive around… With your manager?” Chanyeol asks.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Baekhyun says. “He’s still traumatised by walking in on us that day, he won’t look at me in the eye for more than three seconds.” He continues, then chuckles. “I drove here today, we’ll just take my car.” 

“Ah… I kinda feel sorry for your manager for having to live with you.” Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun elbows him in the stomach lightly, but Chanyeol dramatically doubles over in pain and lets out a low groan. “Just go grab a coat and let’s leave.” He says, then proceeds to unwrap his arms from Chanyeol’s chest and gets up.

“I’ll wait for you in the car!”

——————

The traffic in the streets of Seoul is something else. 

Baekhyun loves driving, but he would only take his car out in the morning, and only drive to places he knows wouldn’t have any heavy traffic. Anytime after two in the afternoon is a terrible time to drive in Seoul, so he would usually leave it to his manager, take a taxi, or even take public transport sometimes.

Yet here he is, driving around with Chanyeol for the first time, and it’s past ten at night of all hours.

Baekhyun would say that he’s a calm driver, just not when it takes him over an hour and a half to reach his destination, especially when he’s hungry. To his surprise, though, Chanyeol was being more impatient than he was. Although that was only because Chanyeol was starving, not because of the fact that the car barely moved an inch every five minutes.

At the end, he gave up on the traffic after getting stuck in Seongsan bridge for over half an hour, which led to Chanyeol falling asleep for a while. Then he made a turn to the parking lot near it.

After he parked the car, they started walking along the riverside until they found a spot on the grass in a more secluded area to settle in. Then Chanyeol ordered some fried chicken to be delivered right to their location.

They sat comfortably for a while as they waited for their food, with Chanyeol leaning unusually close to Baekhyun as he shivers. 

“Aren’t you cold?” Chanyeol asks, breaking the silence they’ve been in since they ordered their chicken about half an hour ago.

“A little.” Baekhyun says. “But only because your freezing hands are stealing the warmth from mine.” 

“That’s because you’re so warm!” Chanyeol whines. Baekhyun thinks it’s cute. “It’s so cold tonight and your body is radiating an abnormal amount of heat right now…” He adds. “Can we—”

“We’re not cuddling.” Baekhyun says playfully. “You’re too cold! How is it my responsibility that you didn’t dress yourself properly? Just drink your coffee and you’ll be warm in no time!”

Chanyeol sighs in defeat and picks up his paper cup half full of coffee that they bought from the convenience store near the parking lot — which has probably gone cold in the time he’s spent clinging onto Baekhyun’s hands for warmth. 

_He’s so pure… Why is it hard to say no to him?_

The idol feels a bit guilty, especially at the way the corners of Chanyeol’s lips curve in a pout as he brings his cup closer to his lips.

_I guess I can sacrifice my warmth for him…_

Just as Baekhyun extends his arm to pull Chanyeol’s hands back to interlace his fingers with his own, he hears the sound of a motorbike approaching their location, signifying the arrival of their late night meal.

Chanyeol’s ears perk up at this, and he immediately puts his cup down next to him to take out his wallet. Baekhyun is quick to stop him with his already extended arm, patting the back of Chanyeol’s hand as he speaks.

“It’s on me today!” He says, retrieving his arm and taking his own wallet out of his pocket. Then he stands up. “You’ve been paying too much lately, so let me get this one!” 

It wasn’t just as of late, but Chanyeol has always been the one to pay for dinner and snacks each time. And Baekhyun’s noticed that he’s always so eager about it, too, but he isn’t going to be the one taking advantage of that, nor will he let anyone else do so.

Baekhyun turns around, not giving Chanyeol the chance to insist like he usually did, and walks up to the driver — who has already dismounted and is busy taking their food out. He hands him the money he owes in exact change after confirming the order, and takes their food in exchange. He thanks the delivery man and watches him mount his bike again before driving off, then he makes his way back to Chanyeol.

He sits down facing his boyfriend this time, making him turn away from the river as well, and he places the plastic bag in between them both.

Chanyeol immediately starts taking a couple of big containers out of the bag, and placing them on top of it.

“Don’t you think you ordered too much?” Baekhyun asks as he checks the contents of the container in front of him. “I won’t be able to eat a _whole chicken_ by myself.” 

“If you’re worried about leftovers, don’t be.” Chanyeol says. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had anything other than cup noodles?” He asks.

Baekhyun chuckles. “I must have forgotten you’ve been living as a shut-in for the past couple of weeks. My bad~” He says.

“And whose fault do you think that is?’ Chanyeol asks, already holding a piece of chicken in both his hands, ready to dig in. He doesn’t sound bitter about it, but seems rather more focused on getting some food into his system. 

“Mine!” Baekhyun says. “But is being irresistible a crime?” He asks. “It’s my fault for distracting you, but it’s not my fault that you’re so easily distracted!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Chanyeol says with his mouth full. “I’m ready to move on if you are.” He says dismissively. 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes as he picks up a piece out of his own container. “I’m pretty sure I’m not the one who keeps bringing it up.” He says, then takes a bite. 

“No use arguing about it now, anyway.” Chanyeol says, sighing. 

“Stop wallowing in self pity, sweetie.” Baekhyun says. “You’ve been whining the entire car ride here, and I even switched out my favourite driving playlist to play you your weird game soundtracks so that you would stop! Be grateful!” 

“Who listens to their own songs while driving?” Chanyeol asks. “I didn’t even think you’d listen to your own songs period!” 

“That’s…!” Baekhyun tries to say. “That’s for work, okay? I need to constantly reflect to be successful!” He says. 

Chanyeol snickers. “Sure.” He says. 

“Don’t laugh!” Baekhyun says, feeling his cheeks heat up gradually. He brings another piece of chicken up to his mouth and bites down.

They continue eating quietly for a couple of minutes, each of them spacing out as they bite down on and chew one piece of chicken after the other. 

Chanyeol finishes his own box full of chicken quite fast, while Baekhyun’s only halfway done with his. 

“You can have some of mine if you’re still hungry, by the way.” Baekhyun says, pushing his container closer to Chanyeol. “I’m full.” 

“You hardly ate anything.” Chanyeol says as he leans forward to peek into Baekhyun’s portion. 

“That’s because unlike you, I had two proper meals earlier today like I’m supposed to.”Baekhyun says. “You worry me, you know?” 

The idol wants to continue talking, but finds himself unable to because of the look Chanyeol has on his face.

Chanyeol’s eyes are wide, brows raised up, and he’s staring at him from behind those framed glasses that are a tad too big for his face.

“How come?” Chanyeol asks.

Baekhyun takes in a deep breath. Is this a door he wants opened? There’s a lot of things he wants to say, but he’ll hold himself back for the sake of not upsetting the other. He needs to be told these things, anyway. Jongdae needs to hear this as well, but Baekhyun will save that for another time. 

Both their lifestyles are detrimental for their healths if they were to keep going like this, and it just worries Baekhyun a lot sometimes.

He sighs. “To start with, you rarely have proper meals. Fried chicken isn’t one, just so you know.” He says. “You get little to no sleep on a daily basis, and I’ve known you for what —four months? And you’ve caught two colds and a flu during the time, so your immune system is pretty shitty because of your unhealthy habits.” Baekhyun adds.

“And to top it off, you’re not even wearing proper clothes for this weather. Should I keep going?” He asks. 

Chanyeol pouts as he puts his empty container back in the plastic bag along with Baekhyun’s half eaten one and his empty coffee cup. He ties the bag’s handles into a knot, and puts it to the side. 

Once he’s done, he looks straight back into Baekhyun’s eyes with a look the idol can’t read.

_Was I too harsh?_

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Baekhyun asks, biting his lower lip. 

“I’m sorry for worrying you.” He says. “What you do kinda concerns me too sometimes, you know. So we’re both on the same boat, I think.” 

“Yeah, but I have Junmyeon hyung nagging me about taking care of myself all the time.” Baekhyun says. “So I figured I’d nag you too, just so that you’d start being more mindful about your habits. And Jongdae’s!” 

“You should tell him off too, then…” Chanyeol says. 

“Later!” Baekhyun says as he plants his hand down on the ground and lifts his body up. “Come on, let’s walk this meal off.” He says as he extends a hand to help Chanyeol up.

Chanyeol picks up the bag and takes the offered hand, and allows himself to be pulled up by Baekhyun. 

He’s a little heavy, but this is nothing Baekhyun can’t handle. The amount of times he’s carried Jongin to the car because he was too sleepy to walk prepared him for this moment.

They start walking hand in hand, and they first make a stop in front of one of the bins to get rid of the plastic bag with the food. 

“There’s something I’m craving right now…” Baekhyun says. “Let’s head back to the convenience store near the parking lot.” He says.

“Please don’t tell me it’s alcohol you’re craving.” Chanyeol says. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m driving us back home, remember?” Baekhyun says.

“Speaking of, you’re a terrible driver, by the way.” Chanyeol says out of the blue. 

“Am not!” Baekhyun says. “What brought this up?” He asks.

Chanyeol chuckles. “I’m kidding. I’m just envious!” He says. “I actually don’t even have my driver’s license yet.” 

“What? Chanyeol, you’re 21.” Baekhyun says. “What are you waiting for?” 

“I just never got around to it, I guess.” Chanyeol says, shrugging. “Besides, I’m fine with public transportation. And after watching you drive in that terrible traffic, I don’t think I’ll get my license anytime soon.” 

“Well, you’re still a student, so I guess that should suffice.” Baekhyun says. 

Before they know it, they’re at the 24 hour convenience store near the parking lot. 

“Wait here!” Baekhyun tells Chanyeol before heading in. 

He ascends the short set of flights that lead to the entrance of the store, and walks through the automatic doors. 

The idol makes his way to the back of the store after greeting the employee manning the register. The store isn’t big, so it doesn’t take him long to get to the display refrigerators furthest away from the door. 

He quickly scans for the drink he wants, and almost panics when he couldn’t find it immediately. 

_Please don’t tell me they’re out… Ah!!_

Then he spots — there’s only three left. He grabs two, and makes his way back to the front of the shop, where he places the drinks on the surface in front of the worker. 

He rings up him, and gives him two straws along with his items. Baekhyun pays in exact change again, and picks the drinks and straws up before leaving the store. 

With a drink and a straw in each hand, he sees Chanyeol in the same spot he left him at, only with his back turned as he faces the river. 

Baekhyun approaches slowly, and once he’s directly behind Chanyeol, he stands up on the tip of his toes and presses the cold drink against the taller’s cheek. 

Chanyeol immediately flinches and turns around, and Baekhyun chuckles. 

“Banana milk?” Chanyeol asks as he looks from Baekhyun to the drink in his hand. “This is what you were craving?” He asks.

Baekhyun pouts. “Do you not like this?” He asks. “You know I would’ve bought alcohol if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m driving your license-less ass back home.” He says.

“I knew it!” Chanyeol says. “Good thing you didn’t, or else we’d have either been stuck here or in a car with your _manager.”_ He adds.

The idol snickers. “That would’ve been hilarious, actually!” He says. “Anyway, you drink this, don’t you? I’ve seen it in your fridge occasionally!” 

“To think that you even—” Chanyeol says. “You know what? I’m not going to question it. Thank you for this!” He says, flashing Baekhyun with a grin before accepting the drink. 

They both unwrap their straws and pierce the top of the drink’s container with it, and take a small sip through the straw. 

“So cold!” Chanyeol says. “Can we drink this in the car, preferably with the heat on?” He asks. 

Baekhyun nods, and takes out his keys as they walk into the parking lot near the convenience store. 

It isn’t that big, and there’s only two other cars besides Baekhyun’s, so they easily find their space. Baekhyun presses the button on his keys that automatically unlocks his car, and walks up to the driver’s seat, while Chanyeol stops in front of the door to the passenger’s seat. 

They both open the doors at the same time and slide in the car, quickly closing the doors behind them. 

Baekhyun turns the engine on, but doesn’t make any move to indicate that he’s ready to start driving again. He sits up with his legs crossed on his seat and resumes drinking his milk.

Chanyeol’s brings one leg up, and twists his body to face Baekhyun. He takes off his cap and places it on his lap, then starts sipping on his own drink as well. 

As he watches Chanyeol quietly, something pops up in his mind.

“I used to work in a convenience store before I became a trainee.” He says. 

“Yeah?” Chanyeol says, prompting him to continue. 

Baekhyun hums. “It was about three years ago. I would always sing during my shifts, and one day, I got scouted, then after a shit ton of paperwork, I became a trainee.” He says. “And it didn’t take me long to debut because of my ability to learn fast. I’m really thankful for that. Do you know how terrible of an experience working in a convenience store is?” He asks.

“If it’s anything like working as a waiter, then yeah, I guess I do.” Chanyeol says. “Maybe I should start displaying some of my talents while working, do you think I’d get scouted?” He asks.

_Talents? Plural?_

“Talents? What are you hiding from me?” Baekhyun asks.

“I was being sarcastic.” Chanyeol says, letting out a laugh before putting the straw back into his mouth and drinking up the remainder of his milk.

Baekhyun chuckles as he watches Chanyeol, who’s looking down at his drink with his eyes wide and almost crossed, with his glasses slowly sliding down the bridge of his nose. 

_How did I get so lucky?_

He’s tempted to reach out and push those glasses up for him, but Chanyeol beats him to it. Baekhyun snaps out of the trance he’s in when Chanyeol speaks up again. 

“Seriously, though, it’s nice that you’re out there doing something you love.” Chanyeol says after he’s pushed his glasses up and put his empty pet bottle in one of the drink holders between them. 

“It is! I’m just hoping that I can continue doing this for a long time, you know?” Baekhyun says as he takes a few more sips of what remains of his own milk. “What about you?” He asks after he swallows. “Do you have anything planned for after you graduate?” He adds.

Chanyeol doesn’t respond, though. Not verbally, at least, as he gives Baekhyun a tight lipped smile and shrugs. Then he brings his leg back down and turns his upper body around to face the front. 

Baekhyun’s brows furrow as he watches Chanyeol fasten his seatbelt and put is cap back on low.

_What’s that about?_

Not knowing what to do or say, Baekhyun quietly puts both his legs back down and turns back to his front as well, and buckles his own seatbelt. 

Come to think of it, did Chanyeol ever talk to him about anything other than his gaming and occasionally, work? He’s never spoken to him about university other than to rant about a few assignments he had due. 

Baekhyun knows Chanyeol’s majoring in literature, but did he choose that because he wanted it? Is it really something he’s interested in? He knows Chanyeol should be graduating next year, but is he ready for that?

Due to the sudden silence, Baekhyun doesn’t know whether he should push this further or not. 

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun says. 

He hums in response. “What is it?” Chanyeol asks, not bothering to even turn around, and keeping his eyes up ahead instead. 

“It’s nothing~” Baekhyun says. “Ah! If I don’t start driving back now, we probably won’t make it back till morning!” He says. He shifts his gear and starts backing his car out of the parking space, and starts driving out of the parking lot.

Neither of them speak again, even as they are back on the road. 

The traffic isn’t as bad as it was when they were on their way here, and Baekhyun’s thankful for that, at least. He still has a long way to go till he reaches Chanyeol’s place, though.

He turns on some music at one point, but keeps the volume low just in case Chanyeol decides to say something again — which he doesn’t. He’s had his chin propped up on his palm, with his elbow resting on the handle of his door as he stares out of the window the entire ride. 

And in the midst of it all, it really dawns on Baekhyun, at that moment, that even after four and a half months of knowing each other, and two of which they’ve been more than friends during, there’s a lot he still doesn’t know about Chanyeol. Apart from his obsession with that game, his weird friendship with Jongdae, the strange habits that Baekhyun finds cute, and a couple of childhood memories, there’s still a lot more left for him to learn. 

To top it off, this silence wasn’t as comfortable as ones they usually have. And Baekhyun doesn’t like it when Chanyeol is like this. 

He starts churning his brain for ideas to lighten up the mood. Trying to get Chanyeol to open up a little is also an option, but it doesn’t seem like he wants to, and Baekhyun doesn’t want to make Chanyeol uneasy. 

Baekhyun thinks his options over, until he settles for what he usually does whenever a change of mood is needed. It always works, and Chanyeol never says no. 

“Hey,” Baekhyun says, and he sees Chanyeol tense up from the corners of his eyes. He smiles. “You’re not falling asleep on me, are you?” He asks.

“I’m not.” Chanyeol says.

Silence again.

“Let’s play 20 questions.” Baekhyun says.

He receives a groan from Chanyeol as he shifts in his seat and turns to face him. “We’ve played this game so many times! What more could you ask?” 

“I don’t care!” Baekhyun says. “There’s a lot more for us to know about each other, just so you know. 21 years worth of content!” 

Chanyeol stays quiet, continuing to whine in protest instead. And only when Baekhyun has to stop the car due to traffic does he turn around to look at Chanyeol, and pouts.

“Fine, fine!” He says “I don’t know why you like this game… We never even get to 20 questions. But go ahead, ask.” 

Baekhyun grins in victory. “Okay!! You know the drill, I ask, we both answer!” He says. “Okay… My first question is, is there a creepy or cringey thing that you occasionally do?” 

“Hmmm…” Chanyeol looks up in thought. “I do this creepy thing for Jongdae every once in a while, and I can only hope this won’t scare you away.” He says.

“Should I be worried?” Baekhyun asks. 

“I don’t know…” Chanyeol says. “Should I say it or just think of something else?” He asks.

“Just spill it already!” Baekhyun says. “Don’t worry about scaring me away, I’ve told you so many disturbing things about me and I’m surprised I haven’t scared _you_ away already.” 

Chanyeol chuckles. “Okay, fine. Jongdae would… Often ask me to track people down online.” He says. 

“That’s it?” Baekhyun asks, raising a brow. That was hardly worth the suspense. 

“The creepy part is that it only takes me a couple of hours to find someone I’ve only met once without knowing their name, where they’re from, and all that necessary information.” 

Baekhyun clears his throat. “That’s— Interesting to know, Chanyeollie. Haha…” 

_My boyfriend, the stalker…_

“Shit, is this too much for you?” Chanyeol asks. “I’d never do it unless Jongdae asks me to. And he doesn’t have ill intentions either, just so you know! He’d only ask me to do it if he sees someone he’s interested in somewhere, and doesn’t know how to approach them. So he asks me to track them down online so that he could, you know… Befriend them there first.” 

“This isn’t helping your case, sweetie.” Baekhyun says, snickering. “You’ve got some fascinating skills, though, I’ll give you that!” He says. “Next time I need a PI, I’ll let you know~” 

Chanyeol laughs. “It’s mostly because I had a lot of free time as a teenager and spent most of it on the Internet… But thank you!” He says. “What about you? Any creepy habits other than blow drying your ass after you shower?” 

Baekhyun almost misses his next turn when he chokes on air and starts coughing. He never thought this would be brought up again. He should have never told Chanyeol this in the first place. It should have died with him and Junmyeon. 

“You can’t use that against me anymore, you creepy stalker!” Baekhyun says. 

He coughs a few more times before clearing his throat. “I don’t know about creepy, but I can tell you there’s nothing more cringey than realising a bit too late the excessive amount of information I’ve shared with people. Like suddenly announcing that my balls are itchy or something, you know?” He says. “I need to start thinking a little before speaking.” 

“But I like it when you do that!” Chanyeol says. “If you’re planning on putting a stop to that habit, leave me out of it.” He says.

“Really?” Baekhyun asks. “Okay, then, I’ll make sure to tell you every detail of my life from now on!” He says. “I’ll start with the fact that my balls really are itchy right now and I’m getting restless.” 

Chanyeol laughs. “I mean I’d help you with that, but you’re driving right now, so…”

_Is this guy serious? He was just upset like three minutes ago._

At the very least, his plan in cheering Chanyeol up seems to be working.

“Let’s not go there, okay?” Baekhyun says, chuckling sheepishly. “Next question! This is kinda a disgusting one but we’ve done it in front of each other, so…” He trails off. “Okay. Where and when did you let out your most inappropriate fart?” He asks.

“You made it sounds more disgusting than it is.” Chanyeol says. 

“Well depending on your answer, it might be! I know mine is…” Baekhyun says as he stops the car in yet another traffic light, and tuns his head to the side to look at the other.

Chanyeol sighs. “Alright. I dozed off in class once and my fart woke me up. Long story short, it was drop-out week, and I did just that the minute I left the lecture hall.” He says. 

“Oh. Did anyone laugh?” Baekhyun asks, and Chanyeol shakes his head. 

“Only those who were sitting far away from me. Those who were near me, not so much…” Chanyeol says. “Anyway it was during my first year, and I’m still hoping no one remembers.” 

“Are you kidding me? With that height and face, who wouldn’t remember you?” Baekhyun chuckles. 

It was hard for Baekhyun to forget him after he first laid eyes on him, at least. He has such memorable and handsome features. 

“But at least you’ve done it in front of people who don’t know you.” Baekhyun says as he turns back around to start driving again. “I once farted on stage with some of my fans standing right there, and Sehun and Jongin standing right behind me.” He says.

“Did your fans hear or smell anything?” Chanyeol asks.

“Nope! Thankfully, it was just Jongin and Sehun at the receiving end of it. Not a day goes by where they don’t tease me for it, though!” 

“Wow.” Chanyeol says. “Still better than your fans noticing. I think it would’ve blown out of proportion if they did.” 

“Again, I’m not as popular as you think I am, Chanyeollie!” Baekhyun says. 

“Whatever you say~” Chanyeol says. “Next question?” 

“Ahh…” Baekhyun says. “Give me a second, let me think.” 

_Am I finally starting to run out of questions?_

Just as his thoughts caused him to start frowning, he hears Chanyeol hum before he starts practically vibrating in his seat. 

“Oh! I’ve got one!” Chanyeol says. “If you could cast a curse on someone, in which a piece of furniture in their home would randomly let out a blood-curdling scream several times a day, which piece of furniture would it be?” He asks.

Baekhyun’s eyes widen. How did he come up with such a question?

_I’m willing to bet this is something to do with a game he plays…_

“Chanyeol, what the hell?” Baekhyun says. “Let’s leave the questions to me from now on, okay…?” He says.

“You’re the one who always wants to play this game! And now that I’m finally asking my own questions, you won’t answer?” Chanyeol says. 

“Your questions are weird! And they aren’t fun to answer!” Baekhyun says” Now, answer this instead. Do you have any habits that annoy other people?” He asks.

“They’re more fun than your basic questions…” Chanyeol says, clicking his tongue. “Of course I do.” He says. “My occasional sloppiness.”

_Is it okay that I like that he’s sloppy?_

“My questions aren’t basic!” Baekhyun says. “For me, it’s when I speak too loudly when I’m in public sometimes. Some would even be vocal and would ask me to lower my voice.” He adds. 

“Does it bother you that they’d ask you to do that?” Chanyeol questions. 

“A little. I don’t care if the entire restaurant can hear what I’m saying, so I don’t know why people get annoyed by that.” 

“If I were you, I’d only start raising my voice after being told that.” Chanyeol says. “This is exactly why I don’t socialise…” 

“Come on, it’s not all that bad! It depends on the company you choose~” Baekhyun says. “Umm… What do you look forward to the most about getting old?” He asks.

Chanyeol doesn’t even take a second to think about his answer. “Early retirement.” He says immediately. 

“Someone’s eager about getting old!” Baekhyun says as he laughs. “I can’t wait till I have kids of my own. I’m mostly looking forward to running around with them!”

“You’ve thought about things like this?” Chanyeol asks.

“When I have too much free time on my hands, I tend to think about these things. This was before I met you, of course.” Baekhyun answers.

“I see.” Chanyeol says. 

He doesn’t say anything else. The only way Baekhyun could tell was by the tone of Chanyeol’s voice, but his mood seems to have gone back to how it was when they first started playing. 

_Maybe I should change things up._

Baekhyun wonders if he starts asking more of these personal questions rather than ones that would only give him embarrassing and funny answers, would Chanyeol still play? Or would he stop him? 

Usually at a moment like this during the game, Chanyeol would tell him to ask his next question. He seems too out of it, though.

_Should I?_

The idol focuses his eyes on the road, trying his best not to stop the car and just confront Chanyeol about why he’s acting like this. Is it really because of his game? Because the longer that this goes, the more Baekhyun thinks that it’s deeper than that, and it worries him.

Why is Chanyeol so dependant on that game? He’s even said multiple times that he is. If Baekhyun didn’t think that it was unhealthy before, he’s starting to think so now. 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun starts, and he could feel Chanyeol flinch a bit from beside him. He doesn’t stop, though. “If you could go back in time and change just one decision you’ve made, what would it be?” He asks. 

He does’t answer straight away, and Baekhyun is about to apologise for asking him such a question and let him know that he doesn’t have to answer, until he actually does.

“There’s too many to pick from.” Chanyeol says. 

Again, he doesn’t ask for Baekhyun’s answer in return, and of course, Baekhyun feels like he shouldn’t just go ahead and say his answer, either. 

So instead, he moves on to his next question. 

“Is there anything you had to learn the hard way?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol’s answer comes out almost automatically. 

“Not to leave myself too exposed.” He says.

_What does he mean by that?_

Baekhyun’s frown only deepens. A voice at the back of his head is screaming at him to stop, while another one — a louder one, keeps urging him to continue because this is the first time Chanyeol’s opened up to him.

Something’s been very off with him ever since he lost all his in-game progress, and Baekhyun wants to know what it is. He wants to make sure that the one he loves most in this world is okay. 

It’s getting quite clear to him that the game served as a great distraction from whatever it is that’s actually bothering him. And unless Baekhyun directly asks him, he could only guess what it is.

So he continues his questions, even though his instincts were telling him otherwise. 

“Is there anything or anyone holding you back?” Baekhyun asks.

And once more, Chanyeol’s answer comes like an impulse. “Yeah.” He says quietly. 

If Baekhyun wasn’t too distracted thinking about his next question, he would have noticed the way Chanyeol’s voice cracked. 

“Why are you too hard on yourself, Chanyeol?” He asks.

Another silence. 

Then all Baekhyun hears for the rest of the car ride back is Chanyeol’s occasional sniffle. He doesn’t dare say anything else. And he doesn’t need to look at him to know that he’s crying.

When he stops for a red light in Chanyeol’s neighbourhood, he carefully turns to his side to find Chanyeol looking down, trying to hide his face in the collar of his jacket.

_Shit… I’m an idiot._

He reaches out and takes a hold of Chanyeol’s hand, interlocking his fingers with Chanyeol’s. When Chanyeol doesn’t refuse the touch, he pulls his hand to the armrest in-between the passenger’s and driver’s seats. 

It’s his way of reassuring Chanyeol that he’s there for him, and always will be.

Baekhyun’s hold on Chanyeol’s hands only tightens as he reaches their destination, not wanting to say anything else in fear of worsening the situation.

He pulls up in the driveway in front of the apartment and he unbuckles his seatbelt, turning around to face Chanyeol instead. He doesn’t let go of Chanyeol’s hand the entire time, only giving it a gentle squeeze. He should probably apologise for pushing him too hard, right?

The idol takes a deep breath in. “Chanyeol, I—” 

“I realised something.” Chanyeol says, cutting him off. 

Baekhyun blinks in confusion. He watches as Chanyeol lets go of his hand to unfasten his seatbelt, and turns around to face him as he says his next words.

“You’re enough.” Chanyeol says. “If I have you, I don’t need anything else in my life.” 

Too overwhelmed to say anything in response to that, Baekhyun continues quietly staring at Chanyeol.

Even as he closes the distance between them to place a light kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you for tonight.” Chanyeol says as he backs away.

He flashes Baekhyun with a soft smile. “Good night, Baekhyunnie.” 

And just like that, he’s out of the car and already back inside by the time Baekhyun snapped out of it and turned around to watch him leave.

Baekhyun reaches up to cup his cheek with his hand.

_What did I do to deserve you?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!
> 
> I'll try my best to get back to updating weekly _(」∠ ､ﾝ､)_ if not, someone call me out on twitter pls lol
> 
> ♡♡


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO I'M SO SO SO SORRY FOR THE SUDDEN HIATUS!!! But just in time for my baby's birthday! 
> 
> HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANYEOL ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
> 
> This chapter contains SMUT!
> 
> Please read the end notes!!!

_His eyes have been teary throughout the entire night._

_And when Baekhyun started talking about the future, and how he seemed to have had at least an idea of what he wanted, he was slightly envious. All he could think about was, “why couldn't I have that?”_

_Then once the idol started asking him those things, clearly trying to dig a little deeper, he mindlessly started answering. He could have gone on, could have spoken more about his issues, but something held him back._

_Before he knew it, he could see the tears that he’d been trying to hold back the entire time pooling up on his glasses as he continued to look down._

_After a prolonged silence, Chanyeol came to a conclusion. One that he’s been thinking about for quite some time during all those sleepless nights without a word from Baekhyun._

_Baekhyun unfastened his seatbelt and called for him, but his determination to let these words out of his chest, if only to finally accept how he feels, drowns out Baekhyun’s voice. He needs to hear those words out loud as well._

_“I realised something.” He says._

_He unbuckles his own seatbelt while Baekhyun watches him quietly, anticipating his next words._

_“You’re enough.” Chanyeol puts it simply. “If I have you, I don’t need anything else in my life.”_

_And it terrifies him, but it’s the truth._

_Baekhyun seems too astonished, as if he couldn’t properly process Chanyeol’s words._

_Feeling a little brave, Chanyeol moves closer to Baekhyun and plants a light kiss on his cheek, then pulls away slowly._

_“Thank you for tonight.” He says._

_“Good night, Baekhyunnie.” He adds with a soft smile._

_——————_

Chanyeol doesn’t bother turning the lights on when he enters his apartment. 

He doesn’t even bother making it to his bedroom after he kicks his shoes off at the entrance, simply making a beeline to the couch and allowing his body to fall on it, resting his head on its cushions. 

_What am I even doing?_

Chanyeol has always known exactly what he’s been running from. He’s just been busy avoiding it this entire time rather than confronting it like he should have a long time ago. 

A part of him feels like it’s a bit too late to do that. He’s reached a point of no return a long time ago, and for a while, he felt like it was impossible to get his life back on track. 

But he’s had enough.

Baekhyun asking him about it really made the realisation of his situation kick in, and before he knew it, he was crying. And to make matters worse, he made Baekhyun feel guilty for trying to get him to open up — which he thought several times of doing himself, but never could. Especially after he lost his account in the game he hid behind. 

Instead, he cowered in fear of being judged once more, and sucked it up in front of his boyfriend until he was back in his own apartment. 

He meant his words, though, when he said that Baekhyun is enough. His comforting words when he first lost his account, always praising him and thinking highly of him, and just being there for him is enough for Chanyeol.

It still terrifies him that he will probably never be fine on his own. That he will always need at least one person to hold him in high standards for him to feel good about himself — to feel his self worth. In this case, Baekhyun is that someone. Before, it was the online gaming community. 

_Why am I like this?_

Chanyeol takes his cap and glasses off, and runs a hand through his hair, letting out a shaky breath. 

This isn’t how he wanted a perfect evening out with Baekhyun to end. Not for him to go back to his apartment alone after crying like an idiot over the consequences of a mistake he’s made when he was 13, in front of Baekhyun, and ultimately ruining the idol’s night as well with the way he reacted for all he knows.

He definitely didn’t mean to react that way. After all, he was never made aware of this until Baekhyun started asking him those questions. He was never aware of his own problems; the ones that resulted from a single mistake, and he has been unconsciously protecting himself all these years by developing an unhealthy obsession over a computer game to avoid facing them. 

But it only took a couple of questions to make him aware. It only proved to him that it was _that_ severe. 

All his self esteem came from playing that game and getting praised for being so good at it. He built his life, his happiness, and his self worth from playing it. Even his long-time friend, Jongdae, became friends with him _because_ of that game. And now that he lost all of that, he feels like he’s also lost the only reason for him to be proud of himself.

When he was younger, before he discovered the virtual world, he focused his life on making his parents proud of him. And because they had a lot of expectations for him, what he considered were achievements he was proud of, slowly became the norm for his parents. After a while, they stopped praising him as much as they used to _because_ he was meeting their standards. 

Eventually, he got bored of that. It felt like his parents couldn’t care less what he did next, — which he later discovered wasn’t true at all — so he stopped meeting their expectations in hopes of them giving him the attention he once got from them, but to no avail. That was when he discovered his other talents. 

He’s never felt accepted or appreciated before the game. And the moment he lost it all, he realised he isn’t as special in the real world as he was in the game. That’s why he was terrified. But Baekhyun was right there, and he guided him through it, helped him forget about it for a while until tonight. 

Baekhyun, the only person outside his small circle of friends who never looked down on him for the kind of life he was leading; for not neglecting important things like studying and building his career, and that clearly meant a lot for his self esteem. 

It doesn’t feel right to be _that_ dependent on another person, just as it didn’t feel right to be dependent on that game and its community. And Chanyeol hates that he’s like this. 

He couldn’t help but wonder when it got to this point, or if he’s always been this way but never realised it. He couldn’t help but wonder if other people in his life, like Jongdae or Yixing, have realised this about him but never told him, because it sure as hell didn’t take Baekhyun that long to figure this out about him and try to confront him about it. 

Why is his entire life centred around other people or certain things? What’s he supposed to do if it’s too late to change that about himself? 

Chanyeol takes another deep breath. It isn’t until he blinks again does he realise that his eyes are filled with unshed tears, as one makes its way down his cheek and rests at his chin. 

His phone vibrates in his pocket, indicating a phone call. He doesn’t feel like talking to anybody right now, but takes his phone out anyway to see who it is, at the very least. 

_“Baekhyunnie”_

He bites his bottom lip. As much as he doesn’t want to avoid the idol right after crying in front of him like that, he can’t help but just stare at the screen without moving his thumb to swipe and accept the call. Is it okay that he wants to be left alone for a while to sort this out by himself? Should he answer and let Baekhyun know that?

Just as he finds the courage to answer, his phone stops ringing, showing him a notification of a missed call instead, which he doesn’t feel like returning anymore.

_Great…_

It’s followed by a flood of message notifications from Baekhyun. Chanyeol blinks away his tears and rubs his eyes roughly, bringing his phone up in front of his face so that he can read the messages easily.

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_Are you asleep already?_

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_I wanted to make sure you were okay after all that_

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_I really feel terrible_

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_I’m sorry I made you cry_

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_I’ll never bring this up again, I promise_

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_But if you’re ever ready to talk about it, I’m right here_

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_You know that right?_

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_Anyway hope you’re sleeping well_

** _From Baekhyunnie:_ **

_Again, sorry about earlier._

This is all wrong. Baekhyun’s night really was ruined just because Chanyeol doesn’t know how to open up to others. He shouldn’t be apologising to him for trying to help.

Chanyeol pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and runs his fingers through his hair, brushing it away from his forehead. He starts to type his replies immediately.  


** _To Baekhyunnie:_ **

_don’t be sorry baekhyun_

** _To Baekhyunnie:_ **

_you didn’t make me cry_

** _To Baekhyunnie:_ **

_don’t worry about it and go to sleep_

** _To Baekhyunnie:_ **

_thank you for tonight_

Hoping this is enough, Chanyeol immediately leaves the chat even as he sees that Baekhyun is typing his response, and locks his phone, tossing it to the side. 

Instead of the short vibration indicating a message, he gets the longer phone call one. Chanyeol briefly glances to the side to see Baekhyun calling him again. 

He clears his throat and takes a deep breath in as he picks up his phone. He lets it out, swipes his thumb across his screen, and brings the phone up to his ear. 

Before he could even say anything, Baekhyun starts speaking.

_“Look, I just want you to know that I really am sorry, and I stand by the promise I made.”_ He says. 

“Baekhyu—” Chanyeol tries to say. 

_“I’ll never, ever, ever,_ ever _ask you any questions you’re not comfortable answering again but please know that if you’re ever ready to talk about this then I’ll literally be on standby or I’ll have Jongdae at your door in a matter of seconds in case I have a schedule or something.”_

“Bae—” Chanyeol tries again.

_“I know you seemed fine before you left the car but I’m dead worried about leaving you alone after that. Do you need anything?”_ Baekhyun asks. “I’ll drive anywhere to get you anything you want and—”

“Baekhyun.” He says, and Baekhyun finally stops talking. “I’m fine, and you’re rambling.” 

_“Sounds like you were crying to me.”_ Baekhyun says. 

Chanyeol freezes. Is it that obvious?

“What tipped you off?” Chanyeol asks, sighing. “Is it my voice? Does it sound weird?”

Baekhyun chuckles, and Chanyeol can’t help but crack a smile at the sound. 

_“Nah, I was right outside your window.”_

Chanyeol’s smile is immediately wiped off his face. “Are you serious?” He asks. “Where are you _now?”_

_“I’m back in my car. I got too cold!”_ Baekhyun says. 

“Why didn’t you just invite yourself in like you usually do?” Chanyeol asks as he gets up and walks to the door. “You’ve got your keys, right?” 

There is a short silence on the other end of the line as Chanyeol puts on his slippers and starts unlocking his door. 

_“I assumed you wouldn’t want my company at the moment.”_ Baekhyun says quietly.

It’s Chanyeol’s turn to stay quiet, because man, was Baekhyun wrong. He was _just_ thinking about how much he heavily relies on the idol for most things. 

He makes sure to take his key before he leaves so that he doesn’t lock himself out. He descends the short flight of stairs, and makes his way to the gate to peek at the driveway. 

Sure enough, Baekhyun’s car is still parked there, and inside, Baekhyun is leaning against the window with his phone pressed to his ear and a deep frown on his face. 

“Get out of the car.” Chanyeol says, and the moment he does, Baekhyun lifts his head up to look right at him. 

Chanyeol hangs up and smiles gently, motioning for the idol to come in.

He stands by the gate and watches as Baekhyun hesitates a couple of times before finally leaving his car and taking small steps towards his direction. He lets out a sigh as he opens the gate, taking a hold of Baekhyun’s wrist and pulling him inside before closing it and leading him back into the apartment. 

Unlike how he was on the phone minutes ago, Baekhyun is really quiet once he’s inside. He takes his time ridding his feet of his shoes by the door before heading to the couch to sit on the other end of it, putting as much distance from Chanyeol as he can.

“Are you—” Baekhyun stops talking and chuckles sheepishly, shaking his head. “Of course you’re not, you were just crying like 10 minutes ago.” He mutters, more to himself than to Chanyeol.

An unsettling silence sits in the air at the living room. This isn’t something that has happened before with them.

Chanyeol is leaning ahead with his elbows resting on his thighs and fingers interlaced in front of him, so he can’t see what kind of expression Baekhyun has on his face at the moment. Not that he would be able to see it clearly enough to read it anyway, since the lights were still off and the only light in the living room was provided by the streetlights streaming in through the window. 

Instead, he reclines on the sofa and rests his head back, keeping his eyes glued to the ceiling. 

He’s being given the opportunity — probably the best one at that — to spill his troubles out for Baekhyun, just like the idol had offered plenty of times to him already. Yet, there’s still some hesitation there at the back of Chanyeol’s mind. 

With a sharp intake of breath, he readies himself to start speaking, but ends up with his mouth hanging open and no words coming out. Just like earlier in the car, and each and every time before that. He ends up letting out a sigh instead. 

“You don’t have to force yourself, Yeol.” Baekhyun says. “You know I’m ready to listen whenever, right?” 

Chanyeol’s head turns slightly to get a better look at Baekhyun, humming in acknowledgement. 

“Just take your time.” Baekhyun says. “It pains me to see you like this, but I’ll wait.” 

Frowning, Chanyeol focuses on the ceiling once more. He doesn’t like that he’s worrying Baekhyun even the slightest over something like this. 

He takes another deep breath, slowly this time. He isn’t sure what he wants to say exactly — he’s never opened up to anyone about this before. But he has to start somewhere.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since…” Chanyeol says. “You know.” He adds.

Baekhyun hums for him to continue. 

Chanyeol sighs. “I’m afraid.” He says.

He feels Baekhyun shift on the couch, but he doesn’t say anything. Chanyeol takes it as a gesture for him to keep going. So he takes in another deep breath before elaborating this fear of his.

“I… don’t think I can handle having nothing to do outside of the things I _have_ to do. I need something to occupy my thoughts all the time or else I won’t be able to handle going through life everyday.” Chanyeol says. 

“Something like your gaming?” Baekhyun asks. 

“Yeah.” Chanyeol says. “It hit me that I can’t be satisfied with my life without having something or someone else as the centre of it.” He says. “I guess I’m never sure of myself with whatever it is I’m doing. I don’t know why, but I feel better when I have someone else’s reassurance that I’m doing something right.”

“I recently lost the thing that made me feel better about myself, but I have you now. And I’m afraid I’d make you feel uncomfortable by always needing you by my side, even if you don’t want to or can’t be.” He says. “I’m afraid that I’m becoming just as dependent as I was on that game, on you.”

“I’m afraid of life without you.” 

_Shit._

Those few moments in which Chanyeol felt brave during are gone. He didn’t feel relief, like he thought he would, and instead is overwhelmed with regret, or something similar. Because even if a part of him is glad he finally admitted — to himself more than anyone — how he really feels, a part of him regrets those feelings were exposed to Baekhyun of all people.

Because now he’s afraid those words would scare Baekhyun away. And knowing how pure-hearted the idol is, he’s afraid those words would force the other to stay by his side for as long as Chanyeol needed him, just like he said.

_Why did I just say that part out loud?_

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun says. “I can’t make any promises but—”

_No._

“I didn’t mean it that way.” Chanyeol says. “I know that sounded clingy and maybe a little pathetic, I just—” He sighs. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Baekhyun, but… I want to learn how to be fine _without_ you. Without _anything_.” 

“I want to stop expecting approval or validation from others just so that _I_ could be proud of myself.” He says. 

“My childhood was wasted trying to make others happy. Then I spent the following eight to nine years developing an unhealthy obsession that only distracted me from doing something about my non-existent self-esteem.” 

Chanyeol chuckles dryly. If the first part of his confession wasn’t enough to drive Baekhyun away, maybe the second part is. 

His eyes are cast down, half expecting the side of the couch that Baekhyun occupies to even out.

Instead, he’s stunned to feel the warmth of Baekhyun’s hand on his shoulder. It’s strange because he just came inside after being out in the cold for who knows how long — Chanyeol didn’t keep track of the time it’s been since then. 

Baekhyun bends over and places his other hand on the shoulder further away from him to turn Chanyeol’s upper body towards him.

With no other choice, Chanyeol’s forced to finally lock eyes with Baekhyun.

“Chanyeol.” 

“Yeah?”

“Stop being so hard on yourself.” He says. “I wish it was as easy as that. But you have to be patient with yourself, or at least try to be.”

Chanyeol blinks, as Baekhyun gives him a small smile. He brings his hand up to push Chanyeol’s hair back. 

“You need to learn how to be kind to yourself, not only to others.” Baekhyun says. “It’ll take some time, but I’ll be here with you through every step of the way.” He adds. 

“I’d drop everything for you, you know that, right?” 

Chanyeol shakes his head. “I don’t want you to.” 

Baekhyun chuckles. “I know.” He says. “Which is why I know you’ll be fine.” 

“See? You’ve finally admitted your worries to yourself.” Baekhyun says, moving his hands to hold both of Chanyeol's between his, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “You’ve finally come to terms with the distress it’s been causing you.”

Chanyeol nods, looking down at the way Baekhyun’s smaller, beautiful hands enveloped his own. How his fingers intertwined so perfectly with Chanyeol’s. He hates being away from their reach, but he needs to learn how to accept that he has to be from time to time. 

“And you know what?” Baekhyun asks. 

“What?” Chanyeol responds. 

“You already took a big first step today, and I’m proud of you.” Baekhyun says. “Trust me when I say that this is the hardest part, admitting that you’re scared. It means you’re ready to do something about this, and that you’re prepared to start working harder to improve on yourself.” 

_He’s right._

Somehow, Baekhyun words make him feel at ease. 

This has been something he’s been dreading not for days, weeks, or months. It’s been something he’s been facing for _years_ now. How on earth did a few reassuring words from Baekhyun take most of his worries away so fast? 

_Because he_ is _right._

Chanyeol’s never thought about things this way. This entire time, all he could think about was how hopeless he was, and how he’s beyond help. He’s told himself that so many times, that he’s become completely convinced that it’s futile to even try improving himself.

And that’s not right. It’s only his own fault he got this bad, and only _he,_ himself, can turn things around. 

Maybe losing his account really _was_ a good thing. It shed focus on his issues and made them as clear as day, until he came to the conclusion that he needed to do something about it, and fast, before it got even worse than it already is. 

He’s still not sure where to begin, of course, but he feels a bit relieved after hearing Baekhyun’s words that he was on the right track. He’s still scared, of course, but it’s natural to feel that way, isn’t it? 

After all, he’s still the same. Only now, he knows that he should start working on himself. 

And he will. Baekhyun being by his side and believing in him gives him the comfort he needs to better himself. Of course, the plan is _not_ to rely on him too much.

_I’m so in love with you, Byun Baekhyun, it’s scary._

Chanyeol smiles, slowly lifting his hands to bring them — along with Baekhyun’s — up in front of his face, pressing his lips lightly against one of the idol’s hands. 

Has he ever said it out loud?

Baekhyun smiles back, untangling one of his hands then uses it to cup Chanyeol’s cheek. The idol’s gentle eyes watch him quietly for a few seconds, before focusing his gaze down on Chanyeol’s lips. 

He watches with half-lidded eyes as Baekhyun’s eyes flutter close, and he inches his head closer to Chanyeol’s, tilting it slightly to the side until their lips touch. 

Chanyeol’s receptive to Baekhyun’s kiss. His own eyes close as he feels Baekhyun start leaning further towards him, until he’s forced into practically lying back on the couch with his elbows keeping his upper body up. 

_Should I say it?_

Chanyeol doesn’t even notice the moment he stopped being responsive to Baekhyun’s soft lips against his, because before he knows it, Baekhyun’s pulling away, and he’s met with a look of concern on the idol’s eyes and a small pout of his lips.

“What is it?” Baekhyun asks. “Was that too sudden?” He says as he rushes to get off of Chanyeol and straightens back up. “Shit, I’m sorry, that was completely terrible timing—” He says

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol says, cutting his rambles short.

The idol looks at him expectantly as he sits up. 

_Shit…_

With a deep, shaky breath in and out, Chanyeol makes up his mind. 

He just says it. 

“I love you.” 

Chanyeol closes his eyes the moment he realises he wasn’t prepared to see Baekhyun’s reaction to his confession. He feels exposed and embarrassed, and is in search of a place to hide his face. 

When he finally gets a hold of one of the cushions on his couch, he grabs it tightly. The living room’s still dark, and they could both only see as much as the lamppost outside his apartment allowed them to see, but Chanyeol still felt the need to slam the pillow against his face a tad too harshly and hiding behind it. 

A part of him feels rather fulfilled that he finally said those words to Baekhyun, because for a long time now, he’s thought a lot about his exact feelings for the idol.  
  
The other part is embarrassed, and unlike the accomplished part, feels that he shouldn’t have said it and that it was sudden; that maybe it was too soon to say those words.

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck._

Chanyeol starts shaking his head. “Forget I ever said anything!” He says, his voice muffled by the pillow. “I didn’t say anything! You heard NOTHING!” He says.

_Please say it back._

The first thing out of Baekhyun isn’t an “I love you” back. 

Instead, it was laugher. 

Confused, Chanyeol takes the pillow away from his face and looks at the idol, frowning. 

“What’s so funny?” He asks, almost stuttering with his words.

_I shouldn’t have said it…_

Regret slowly starts washing over him, and Baekhyun’s uncontrollable laughter isn’t doing anything to help his situation. 

Chanyeol turns his head to the side and casts his eyes downwards. He feels the sting coming back, tears already threatening to fall. 

And that’s the moment Baekhyun chooses to finally start quieting down. 

“I’m _so_ sorry!” Baekhyun tries to say. “I’m sorry, I just—” He takes a deep breath to compose himself.

“Chanyeol, I laugh when I’m embarrassed—” Baekhyun shakes his head. “Aahhh that came out wrong!” He says. “I got flustered, okay?”

“I always thought I’d be the one to say it first!” The idol admits. “I was worried I might say it too soon and make you uncomfortable. You, looking at me the way you did, and just saying it like that rendered me speechless!” He says. “Then the look on your face was cute for a second until you hid it and got upset and—” 

Chanyeol looks back at the idol as he takes another deep breath to calm himself.

“What I’m trying to say is,” He smiles. “I love you too, Chanyeol. I’ve loved you for so long, and I’m glad you feel the same way because I don’t think I could’ve kept that for myself any longer.” 

All Chanyeol can do is stare back into Baekhyun’s soft eyes. 

“You mean it?” He asks. “You’re not just saying it because I kinda forced you into it?” 

Baekhyun chuckles. He slowly moves back into the position he was in before all this, — knee between Chanyeol’s legs — causing Chanyeol to follow his lead. 

“I mean it.” Baekhyun whispers. “I love you, Park Chanyeol.” 

_What?_  
  
The next thing he knew, Baekhyun’s kissing him again. Although he’s still in slight shock from Baekhyun reciprocating his feelings, so he doesn’t respond to his kisses immediately.

Baekhyun pulls away, and with a smile on his lips, says it again.

“I love you so much, Chanyeol.” 

Then Baekhyun’s lips are on his once more, kissing the breath out of his lungs. 

Chanyeol smiles into the other’s lips between kisses.

He never imagined himself in this position with _anyone_ let alone someone as perfect as Byun Baekhyun. 

Since Baekhyun’s schedule keeps him busy most of the time, and whenever he _did_ have time, Chanyeol was too busy playing, they’ve only got around to doing this a few number of times. 

Each time felt as great as the first with Baekhyun.

The idol pulls away, lips swollen red and plump. The glint he catches in his eyes as he gives a gentle smile tells him exactly what it is that Baekhyun wanted at the moment.

Chanyeol was crying mere minutes ago, but that doesn’t even cross his mind because all he wants right now is Baekhyun. Under him, on top of him, it doesn’t matter. He just wants the man who can easily make everything better, who _has_ easily made everything better for him since he met him four months ago, and he wants him right now. 

“Why’d you stop?” Chanyeol asks, sounding rather winded. 

“I just wanted to admire your beauty.” Baekhyun responds.

Chanyeol turns his head to the side. “Stop being embarrassing.” He says. 

Baekhyun’s chuckle is low and close, as he catches Chanyeol’s lips between his once again. 

He feels the heat of Baekhyun’s hands against the back of his head and nape, as he starts gently playing with his hair using his fingers. 

Chanyeol leans into the touch, closing his eyes and exposing his long neck, and Baekhyun sees that as an opportunity to pull away from his lips and focus there. He feels the other slowly trail kisses down from his jaw. 

The brush of Baekhyun’s nose along his neck as well as his hot breath washing over his skin leave him tingling with anticipation

Chanyeol’s elbows are still on the couch, fighting hard to keep him steady as he searched for something below him to hang on to, but all he can find is the sides of his sweater. So he grips onto them tightly. 

It’s been a while, so a nervous huff escapes from Chanyeol’s lips as he awaits what Baekhyun will do next. 

The idol’s movements slowly grow desperate. Chanyeol could feel his slender fingers almost shivering as they moved down to his neck and shoulder, keeping a firm hold on Chanyeol as he continues kissing his neck. 

“I want to do it this time.” Baekhyun says between heavy breaths and kisses. 

They’re never done it that way before. Sure, it was always Baekhyun initiating and taking the lead because of Chanyeol’s lack of experience, but it was always Chanyeol those few times they did it. 

He doesn’t mind either way, but before he could say anything about that, Baekhyun’s hands start fumbling until they’re under his sweater, making him completely forget whatever it was he had to say.

Despite the idol’s hands being warm, Chanyeol shivers at those long, beautiful fingers sliding up and down his chest while Baekhyun starts sucking on the spot behind Chanyeol’s right ear — where he knows Chanyeol is most sensitive. 

“B—Baekhyun!” Chanyeol moans out softly. 

The idol stops for a second. “God, you’re so beautiful, Chanyeol.” He whispers.

Baekhyun takes his hands out from under Chanyeol’s sweater, and brings one of them up to cup Chanyeol’s cheek, giving him a chaste kiss, then pulling away. 

He then drops back down to the hem of Chanyeol’s sweater, idly fiddling with the fabric while smirking down at Chanyeol. 

This is clearly to tease him.

“I want to make _you_ feel good tonight.” Baekhyun says as his fiddling subsides. “You relax, enjoy this, and I’ll take care of the rest~” 

Baekhyun drops his other hand down to the hem of his sweater, and slides both hands along Chanyeol’s torso, helping him draw the swear up to his arms, and slowly over his head. 

Once he tosses Chanyeol’s sweater to the side, he starts fumbling with the zipper on hisown hoodie, pulling it down and getting rid of it, throwing it in the direction he threw Chanyeol’s discarded sweater.

Chanyeol’s face heats up under Baekhyun’s gaze, and he attempts to cover his untoned body with his rather lanky arms, and falling on his back as he does so. Baekhyun clicks his tongue, taking a hold of Chanyeol’s hands to pull his arms away over his head and pinning them there, but not before kissing each one.

With that out of the way, Baekhyun is back on him, and he doesn’t leave a a spot on Chanyeol’s torso untouched by either his fingers or lips, while slowly undoing the front of his trousers, and grinding his hand into Chanyeol’s hardening dick. 

Baekhyun’s touches are gentle and caring, but Chanyeol could feel the urgency in them. 

He feels the idol’s half-hard cock grinding against his clothed thigh as he continued groping and squeezing his. 

Chanyeol’s head becomes more clouded as he bucks his hips into Baekhyun’s hand. He gets too immersed in that feeling for a second, that he doesn’t notice when Baekhyun’s lips are no longer on his torso, and the hand that was ghosting over it a second ago was how undoing his own jeans. 

Then everything stops at once and Chanyeol is left whining and squirming as he could no longer feel Baekhyun’s weight on him. He brings his head back up and looks around the unlit room — his eyes already accustomed to the darkness of it. 

He hears Baekhyun chuckle from his room. 

“A little impatient, aren’t you?” He says as he enters the living room once again. 

Before getting back up on the couch, he rids himself of his own pants, keeping just his T-shirt and underwear on. 

“And you have a _unique_ sense of time.” Chanyeol says.

As soon as he’s back on top, his hands are on the waist band of Chanyeol’s underwear along with his undone pants. Chanyeol brings his hips up to help him pull them both down to his thighs, then down to his ankles, and forgetting about them there. 

He takes a second admiring Chanyeol once more, his front teeth gently digging into his lower lip as he did. Then he darts his tongue out teasingly to lick the precum off the tip of Chanyeol’s hard cock, before taking it in between his lips. 

_Holy fucking shit._

Chanyeol throw his head back once more, hands moving up to hold onto Baekhyun’s hair, burying his fingers there, careful not to tug at it too hard and hurt the idol.

He inhales sharply and moans Baekhyun’s name as the other continues working his tongue on the hard length of Chanyeol’s dick. He’s already on the edge of coming apart. 

Baekhyun chooses that moment to pull away, as if he sensed it. Chanyeol lifts his head up a little to watch the idol, who leaves behind a trail of saliva between his lips and Chanyeol’s tip. 

“Ugh, _timing,_ Baekhyun!”

With a whine once more at the loss of touch, he throws his head back on the couch, panting. He hears a chuckle and a click of a bottle lid — so that’s what Baekhyun got up for earlier — and that was the only warning he gets before he feels Baekhyun’s tight grip on him, slowly stroking him just as a finger starts pushing into him. 

Then he has the audacity to leave his aching cock neglected once again, only to push his thighs apart and focus on slowly working him open. 

It all turns into a blur, with Chanyeol pleading and begging for more, and Baekhyun complying, but not with what he wants. Not with what he desperately _needs._

That is, until he feels Baekhyun lift one of his thighs up, hooking his ankle over his shoulder, and brings both of his hands down to hold onto Chanyeol’s hips. 

He feels Baekhyun’s lips against his neck, slowly trailing his tongue up to his sensitive spot once more. A mere whisper of his name has him shivering, letting out soft moans of Baekhyun’s name, begging him to give him what he needs. 

After what felt like an eternity, Baekhyun _finally_ pushes in slowly, —but smoothly thanks to the proper amount of time he took with the preparations a few moments before — and he bites down on the tip of Chanyeol’s already red ear at the same time, making Chanyeol let out his loudest moan yet. He hears Baekhyun’s low groan against his ear after. 

Baekhyun moves his hands to wrap them around Chanyeol’s small — but bigger waist, and he nuzzles into his neck, leaving loving kisses all over. 

He continues to ease himself into Chanyeol, then begins moving at a slow pace. 

Chanyeol swears he’s about to lose his mind as he wraps his arms around Baekhyun’s neck.

Without even realising it, he’s telling him to go faster. And with a low, throaty chuckle, Baekhyun obliges and quickens his pace little by little. 

Baekhyun’s pushing him over the edge again, even when it’s been a few minutes since he’s touched him. No, it’s been too long, and Chanyeol can’t handle it anymore. 

The harder Baekhyun thrusts, the louder Chanyeol’s moans become. 

At one point, Chanyeol feels one of Baekhyun’s hands move to grip his hip, while the other snakes its way back to his abandoned, throbbing cock, and starts jerking him off. 

He’s so close. Too close. 

And Baekhyun only continued to pump him and _into_ him mercilessly. 

Baekhyun’s grip around him tightens and his pace quickens. He could feel the pleasure in his body start to peak. 

He barely registers Baekhyun’s breathless voice as he speaks to him, let alone catch whatever it was he said.

“I’m about t-to—”

Chanyeol doesn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t think it was possible, but Baekhyun only slams into him harder and strokes him faster after he let those three words out.

Before he knows it, his back is arching from the couch, nails digging into the fabric of Baekhyun’s T-shirt around his shoulder with nothing else to hold onto as he releases.

Chanyeol’s head is left swirling. It’s _euphoric_. 

Baekhyun doesn’t stop fucking him, moaning and thrusting until he was overcome with oversensitivity — probably from Chanyeol clenching around him in his high. 

Seeing this, Chanyeol finds the strength to drop his hands down to grip at Baekhyun’s hips, and follows their movement to the moment he tenses and comes. 

They both gaze long and hard into one another, panting. 

Then Chanyeol grabs the front of Baekhyun’s T-shirt weakly and pulls him down to crash the idol’s lips against his own.

Baekhyun allows his body to collapse, half on Chanyeol’s body, and the other half on the side — Chanyeol is momentarily thankful his couch is wide enough for this. 

Tugging the idol closer, Chanyeol allows him to rest his head on his wide shoulder, placing a kiss on top of Baekhyun’s head. 

Baekhyun hums and curls up against Chanyeol, wrapping his arms around his waist to pull himself closer. 

“I hope that made you feel better.” 

Chanyeol hums. “It did, actually.” 

No other sound fills the room besides their breathing. When Chanyeol looks down, he sees that Baekhyun already has his eyes closed and his breathing is evened out. 

There isn’t anything in the world that has felt as right as being with Baekhyun for him. He knew there was something about the idol the moment he spoke his strange request the day they met. 

And although Chanyeol has been oblivious to his own feelings numerous of times, he _did_ notice that he was different with Baekhyun since the very beginning. 

He thought their strange friendship and the bond they shared since then was a result of Baekhyun being a strange man himself, but it wasn’t. It was definitely something else, and only when they spent time apart after they finally got together did Chanyeol realise what it is.

It was attraction. He just never knew because he’s never felt it before he laid eyes on Baekhyun.

Chanyeol takes this time to appreciate Baekhyun being here. Not just lying on his couch with him, snuggled up in his arms against his chest, but for being in his life in general. 

He couldn’t help but wonder, as he stares at the top of Baekhyun’s head, what his life would’ve been like if he hadn’t met him and piqued his interests the way he did. Or if he hadn’t agreed to help him that day the idol practically forced him into it. If Baekhyun wasn’t as daring as he was, would they be where they are now?

If Baekhyun wasn’t here with him, would he still be stuck in an endless loop of work, gaming, — barely — sleeping, and eating? Would he _still_ be gaming, anyway? 

Chanyeol shakes his head and smiles, burying his nose in Baekhyun’s thick head of hair and nuzzling against it. 

_I guess there’s no use thinking about those what ifs now._

One thing he knows for sure, is that he would be miserable without Byun Baekhyun.

_——————_

“Tell me, Jongdae, what makes you qualified enough to look after my apartment for six whole months when you don’t even have time to pass some of your classes?” 

Jongdae snorts. “Please, you treat this place like a dump. It’s better off in my— _and_ my new boyfriend’s capable hands.” 

Chanyeol chuckles as he closes up his suitcase after checking its contents one last time to make sure everything he needs is in there. 

Four months ago, he finally set his mind on getting his life together. 

Needless to say, he’s getting there now. An indication being Kim Jongdae hovering over him with a clear pout on his lips while Chanyeol sat on the floor and threw in last-minute stuff in his bags, such as his laptop and chargers. 

He always thought his grades were average until one of his professors told him they were good enough for him to try for an internship abroad. Although it inevitably came down to several interviews through video calls, he still managed to impress one of the respected publishing companies in Tokyo and got an offer to work there for six months before he starts his final year at university. 

“Speaking of your boyfriend, how’s Minseok hyung doing now that he’s _finally_ rid of you and all the stress you’ve caused him over that project?” Chanyeol asks as he stands up then bends down to flip his suitcase so that the wheels were on the ground. 

“Why don’t _you_ ask him?” Jongdae asks. “Or have you already cut ties with the only people who tolerated your miserable ass besides Baekhyun, Yixing hyung, and I after you quit your job?” 

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. 

_Always ready with those insults._

“Oh come on now, you know I would never cut them off! I’ve _especially_ had a great appreciation for Minseok hyung ever since he shit talked the student he was supervising when we were all having drinks, knowing damn well he was talking about you.” Chanyeol says. “Or did you perhaps need a reminder of what else went on that night because you kept chugging down drink after drink out of embarrassment ‘till you were squirming in your seat?” 

“I swear, Chanyeol—”

Chanyeol laughs at Jongdae’s flustered face as he puts on his hoodie, zipping it up. He then grabs his backpack and slings it over his shoulders, its weight pulling him down a bit. He fastens the straps to adjust the position of the bag on his back until he’s comfortable enough.

“Minseok hyung wishes you well.” Jongdae says. “So does Kyungsoo. He gave me some heavenly baked goods to give to you but I ate them on my way here.” 

Chanyeol sighs at Jongdae’s actions, but smiles at the gesture from Kyungsoo. 

“All set?” Jongdae asks. 

“I guess so.” Chanyeol responds after dragging his luggage to his apartment’s door and sits down to put his shoes on.

A few moments of silence pass by as Chanyeol finishes tying his shoelaces, then stands back up. 

“You have everything with you?” Jongdae asks, leaning against the wall adjacent to the door with his arms crossed.

Chanyeol nods. 

“Your passport? Your wallet? Your phone?” He asks.

After patting the back pocket of his jeans and the one on the hoodie, he gives another nod to Jongdae. 

“I’ve got everything.” He says. 

Chanyeol reaches up to scratch at the back of his head. He’s never seen Jongdae this quiet before and it makes him a little nervous. 

“Take care of yourself, okay?” Jongdae finally says. “Please don’t get into your old habits, even if things are bad — which I know they won’t be.” 

“Same goes to you.” Chanyeol says as he gives the other a smile. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be on the first plane back, I promise.” 

“Shut up, that’s so cringey!” Jongdae says as he pushes his body away from the wall and gets the door for Chanyeol, pushing him — along with his luggage, out. “You’re only going away for a six month internship! Your fated to come back here and die of old age with me.” 

Chanyeol stumbles out of the apartment as Jongdae stands at the entrance of it, looking away from him, clearly embarrassed. 

All he does is simply spread his arms open, and with a short glance to the side, Jongdae wraps his arms around the taller’s torso. Chanyeol returns the hug with a soft smile on his face.

“Have a safe flight! And make good choices!” Jongdae says.

“I will.” 

——————

Chanyeol takes in a deep breath as he reaches with his shaky fingers to unfasten his seatbelt. 

_This is it._

A click emitting from the buckle signifies that he succeeded, but he can’t bring himself to make another move to free his body of the restraints. 

He stares hard into his lap, his grip on the belt gradually tightening. 

Where did this hesitation suddenly come from? His steps didn’t even falter, and he didn’t even look back when he left Jongdae in his apartment to get into the car waiting for him an hour ago. 

_It finally feels_ real _._

He’s in a car, parked outside Gimpo Airport, with his own luggage in the trunk of it. He’s the one leaving. 

Chanyeol’s not here to say goodbye to someone who’s leaving _him_. He’s not here to accompany Baekhyun and see him off for an oversees schedule like he’s already done several times.

This is for _him._ He’s the one who’s leaving this time. He’s the one everyone is saying goodbye to. 

It feels strange now that the time finally came. He’s more nervous than he is excited, so he’s left glued in his place in the passenger’s seat. 

Another click of a seatbelt buckle sounds, and Chanyeol is startled back to the reality he’s so anxious about by a hand against his own, and a voice.

“Chanyeol?” 

He looks to his right, at the one who called for him. His own agitated expression is met with the soft smile of the man he loves more than anything in the world.

The same man who gave him the strength and courage to make a change in his life. The one who encouraged him to go out there and explore — although Chanyeol would never have thought he meant it _literally_ four months ago, because here he is _now_. About to start a new chapter of his life.

Nothing makes him happier than knowing Baekhyun would be with him throughout it all does.

“Is everything okay?” Baekhyun asks.

He lets out a somewhat relieved sigh and nods, then smiles back at the idol, but even he felt the insincerity of it.

Baekhyun turns his body to the side to face him properly. “You wouldn’t stop talking the entire car ride here about how exciting this is going to be. Why the change in attitude all of a sudden?” He asks.

Chanyeol frowns. 

“I was thinking…” He starts. “Isn’t six months a bit too much?” 

The idol rolls his eyes. “We talked about this, Chanyeol.” He says. “What happened to wanting to pick up some work skills and polishing up your self-taught Japanese before your last year at uni?” 

“It’s not that—” Chanyeol says. “I still want all those things!” 

“Then what is it?” Baekhyun asks. 

Chanyeol looks away from the idol and starts fiddling with the zipper on his hoodie. “You’ll be able to come visit between schedules, right?” He asks.

“I already told you before.” Baekhyun says. “I promise you, nothing will keep me from getting on a plane to see you, even if it’s just for a _day_.” 

“I know, but…” Chanyeol trails off. “I’ll miss you.”

“You’ve been unbelievably patient and supportive since the moment we met.” Chanyeol said. “I mean, I wasn’t even looking, but I don’t think I would’ve known where to find someone who would put up with all the weird shit I did before.” 

“And on top of staying by my side through all that, you helped me find my way.” He continued. “I chose this path, and you eased whatever little worries and doubts I had about going through with it.” 

“I know it’s going to be scary at first, living alone in a city I’ve only ever stepped foot in once before, and it was a _family_ trip.” He says. “But I know it’ll turn out fine eventually.” 

He sighs again.

_Should I say this…?_

Chanyeol briefly wonders whether this will contradict everything he’s worked so hard on changing about himself. But he needs Baekhyun to know.

“I just… don’t like that I’m gonna be more than a short drive away from you.” He says.

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, and with his head turned to the side, Chanyeol doesn’t know what expression the other has on his face and whether he was still facing him. 

All he gets is a tug on his sleeve before he’s pulled into a passionate kiss. 

It reminds Chanyeol of the first one they shared, in which no one else but the one in front of him mattered — not even Jongdae’s weird ass hiding in the closet mattered, as he forgot about him entirely for a couple of minutes. 

Chanyeol cups the sides of Baekhyun’s head, running his fingers gently into his hair. 

Baekhyun pulls out of the kiss first, giving Chanyeol one more peck as they rest their foreheads against one another’s. 

Through his lashes, Chanyeol could see Baekhyun’s eyes gazing back at him. 

“I’m so proud of you, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says as he closes the distance between them again for another quick and light press of lips. “I know you’ll adjust over there just fine, and I know everything will turn out great for you.” 

“I’ll miss you so much more.” He says, one of his hands playing with the hairs just above the nape of his neck. “Remember what I told you on your birthday?” He asks.

Chanyeol nods. “I remember.” 

Baekhyun lets out a low chuckle. “I know you do.” He says. “Now go. You have a flight to catch~” 

Then the idols starts letting go and pulling back until he’s sitting properly on his seat again. His eyes remain on Chanyeol though, and a small smile plays on his lips. 

Chanyeol retrieves his cap and puts it back on, fixing himself up before opening his door. 

He takes his bag and backpack from the trunk of the car, and moves back to the rolled-down passenger’s window. 

“I’ll visit you as _soon_ as I can, okay?” Baekhyun says. 

Chanyeol nods. “I’ll see you _soon_ then.” He says.

Baekhyun waves at him before rolling the tinted window all the way up, until all Chanyeol can see is his own reflection. 

He turns around and makes his way to the entrance of the airport. 

Once he’s inside, everything goes by so quickly. He checks in his flight and drops off his luggage, he goes through security, and he has plenty of time to locate the gate designated for his flight.

Chanyeol ends up sitting in one of the empty rows of chairs by the windows with time to kill, but absolutely nothing to do. 

He finds himself thumbing the piece of jewellery around his wrist and smiling to himself. 

_Everything’ll be just fine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> END~! ♡
> 
> First of all I'd like to apologise for taking so long on this chapter! Writer's block hit me hard! It was a mistake starting this fic without outlining a whole plot for it _(」∠ ､ﾝ､)_
> 
> Second, I'd like to thank everyone who commented, liked and gave kudos to this fic! I hope the ending is to your satisfaction! ;◡; 
> 
> Also this is my first time writing and publishing smut slkdjflj do tell me how you liked it oho Chanyeol is a bottom btw
> 
> Anyway, I've been working on a mafia au chanbaek fic since March, and I just started writing the first chapter (just in time for EXO's upcoming mafia(???) concept repack!) If you enjoyed this, please look out for it! ^^
> 
> Thank you all for your support again!! ♡


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